Roy Herron (September 30, 1953 – July 9, 2023) was an American politician, attorney, and author. He was the chairman of the

Tennessee Democratic Party The Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in Tennessee. The party was founded in 1826 initially as the Jacksonian democracy, Jacksonian Party. The Tennessee Democratic Party w ...

. He was the Tennessee State Senator for the 24th district for 16 years and for 10 years before that the

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

for the 76th district. He was the 2010 Democratic nominee for

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for . The senate district encompassed Benton, Decatur,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, Henderson,

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

, Obion,

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

, Stewart, and Weakley counties.

Early life, education and career

Roy Herron grew up in Weakley County, Tennessee, where his ancestor was one of the first two settlers in the 1820s. Herron grew up working on his family's farm and became an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

. Herron graduated with highest honors from the

University of Tennessee at Martin The University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin or UTM) is a public university in Martin, Tennessee, United States. It is one of the five campuses of the University of Tennessee system. UTM is the only public university in West Tennessee outsi ...

in 1975. Herron was the 9th Governor of the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature, a statewide organization of college students. Before serving as Governor, he was Lieutenant Governor of the organization. In 1975 and 1976 he was a Rotary Scholar in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

at the

University of St. Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

. He graduated from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

in 1980, with a M.Div. and a J.D. as one of the first two joint law and divinity graduates. Herron worked as an attorney and a businessman. He served for many years as adjunct faculty at Vanderbilt University's law and divinity schools where he taught courses he created. He also worked as a

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

minister. He helped found and served as the co-chair of FaithfulDemocrats.com, an online community for Democrats of Christian faith. He also founded and led the non-profit Volunteer Center for Rural Development.

Tennessee Legislature

Herron was first elected to the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

in 1986 to fill Governor

Ned McWherter Ned Ray McWherter (October 15, 1930April 4, 2011) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th Governor of Tennessee, from 1987 to 1995. Prior to that, he served as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 19 ...

's seat. He served in the House in the 95th through 99th Tennessee General Assemblies and in the Senate in the 100th through 107th. He rose to become floor leader and then chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. He also chaired the Select Committee on Children and Youth, the Senate General Welfare, Health and Human Resources Committee, and the Joint Tenncare Oversight Committee. He was a member of the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Government Operations Committee, the Joint Committee on Charitable Gaming, and the Joint Select Committee on Education. Herron was known for his work ethic (he attended every legislative session for 26 years except the day his youngest son was being born), his debating skills, and his strong advocacy for those he called "the working people and the hurting people". Herron did not seek re-election in 2012.

2010 U.S. Congressional campaign

In April 2009, Herron announced that he would be running for

Governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Tennessee Military Department, military forces. The governor is the only official in the Government of Tenne ...

in the Democratic primary, but in December 2009, he declared as a candidate for when Congressman John S. Tanner announced his retirement. Herron quickly became the frontrunner and other strong contenders did not challenge him. He was easily victorious in the August 2010 primary. Herron faced Republican nominee Stephen Fincher;

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event, typically held in the afternoon, featuring the consumption of tea and light refreshments. Social tea drinking rituals are observed in many cultures worldwide, both historically and in the present day. A ...

candidate Donn Janes, who earlier dropped out of the Republican primary; and Independent Mark J. Rawles. Despite raising over $2 million, a record amount for a Tennessee Democratic congressional candidate, Herron lost to Fincher in November in the massive Republican wave which swept through Tennessee and the nation. Herron did not have to give up his state senate seat to run in the congressional race; Tennessee state senators serve staggered four-year terms.

Endorsements

In the congressional race, Herron was endorsed by the state's two largest newspapers, the ''

Memphis Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, also ...

'' and the '' Nashville Tennessean'', as well as every other endorsing newspaper, a total of at least eight newspapers.

Chairmanship of the Tennessee Democratic Party

Herron was elected in 2013 as Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman. His work as chairman was categorized as successful, despite challenging times with a divided State Executive Committee and Democratic superminorities in the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Tennessee Senate, Senate and a Tennessee House of Representa ...

. Herron set records in Jackson Day fundraising and spoke out with unprecedented numbers of

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

essays in major newspapers in the state. In the summer of 2014, he led a quiet but effective effort to save the Democratic justices on the

Tennessee Supreme Court The Tennessee Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of Tennessee. The Supreme Court's three buildings are seated in Nashville, Knoxville, and Jackson, Tennessee. The Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, and four justice ...

, successfully raising unprecedented funds for retaining the court. In the fall, he also led the party to victories in five of their seven targeted races in 2014 despite Republican advantages in numbers of office holders, funding, and outside groups weighing in heavily in state races. In January 2015, Democratic activist and former candidate for State Senate

Mary Mancini Mary Mancini is an American political activist and former candidate, who served as Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party from 2015 to 2021. She was elected as Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party on January 10, 2015 as the second woman to b ...

was elected to succeed Herron.

Personal life

Herron and his wife had three sons: John, Rick, and Ben. The couple lived in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

southeast of

Martin, Tennessee Martin is a city in Weakley County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 10,825 according to the 2020 census. The city is the home of the University of Tennessee at Martin. History Martin is named for Captain William Martin. Willia ...

. On July 1, 2023, Herron was injured in a

jet ski A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat. P ...

accident on

Kentucky Lake Kentucky Lake is a major navigable river, navigable reservoir along the Tennessee River in Kentucky and Tennessee. It was created in 1944 by the Tennessee Valley Authority's impounding of the Tennessee River via Kentucky Dam for flood control a ...

. He died at

Vanderbilt University Medical Center The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is a medical provider with multiple hospitals in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as clinics and facilities throughout Middle Tennessee. VUMC is an independent non-profit organization, but maintains a ...

on July 9, at the age of 69.

Works

*Roy Herron, ''Things Held Dear: Soul Stories for My Sons'', Westminster John Knox Press; 1st edition (July 1999), *Roy Herron (author), L.H. "Cotton Ivy" (co-author), ''Tennessee Political Humor: Some Of These Jokes You Voted For'', Univ Tennessee Press (November 2000), *Roy Herron, ''How Can a Christian Be in Politics?: A Guide Toward Faithful Politics (Vital Questions)'', Tyndale House Publishers (March 2005), *Roy Herron, ''God and Politics: How Can A Christian Be In Politics?'', Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (July 2008),

References

External links

Roy Herron Law Office
''official law firm website'' *
Campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets.org * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herron, Roy 1953 births 2023 deaths 20th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly 20th-century American Methodist ministers 21st-century American Methodist ministers Alumni of the University of St Andrews American United Methodist clergy Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Democratic Party Tennessee state senators Methodists from Tennessee People from Dresden, Tennessee Sports deaths in Tennessee Tennessee Democratic Party chairs University of Tennessee alumni Vanderbilt University alumni