The record doesn't lie
Twenty years in Frankfort. A guilty plea in a vote buying scheme. A no vote on protecting police officers. A pension he protected before yours. Now Johnny Ray Turner wants another seat. Floyd and Pike Counties deserve better than a retread.
See the record
Pillar One
In 2005, a federal grand jury indicted Senator Turner on mail fraud and conspiracy charges tied to his 2004 re-election. Prosecutors said money was funneled through straw contributors to pay for votes under the cover of "vote hauling." In 2007 he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three months of home detention and a year of probation. Then he went right back to Frankfort.
United States v. Johnny Ray Turner, Ross Harris and Loren Glenn Turner. Filed May 5, 2005 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, case 3:05-cr-00002. The allegations: campaign money routed through straw donors and used to pay for votes.
Turner pleaded guilty in 2007 and was sentenced to three months of home detention and one year of probation. A sitting state senator, confined to his house, for what happened in his own campaign. He kept his seat anyway.
The retread
Pillar Two
When it came time to stand with law enforcement, first responders, and families fighting addiction, Turner voted no.
On March 7, 2017, Turner voted against HB 14, which added local, state, and federal peace officers and first responders to Kentucky's hate crimes law. Attacking a cop should carry a heavier price. Turner said no.
On April 20, 2012, with Eastern Kentucky in the grip of the pill epidemic, Turner voted against HB 1, which required physicians to use the state's prescription drug monitoring program to stop doctor shopping and pill mills.
In February 2017, Turner passed on a bill to ban tobacco use at Kentucky schools. His stated concern: smokers might skip the ballgame if they couldn't light up. Kids' health took a back seat to the concession stand.
Pillar Three
Turner drew a teacher pension while serving in the Senate. When Frankfort debated reform to keep the system solvent, he made his priority clear. And on the state's finances, he voted against the guardrails every family lives by.
In November 2017, Turner told a public meeting he would not vote for anything that would hurt "you, me or my family," and called himself "an adamant no." He was collecting a teacher pension at the time. He protected his. Who was protecting yours?
On February 27, 2015, Turner voted against SB 94, which would have capped Kentucky's debt at 6 percent of general state revenue. Families live on a budget. Turner voted to keep Frankfort off of one.
Turner voted against a medical malpractice claims review panel (SB 119, February 19, 2014) and against malpractice reform again in 2018 (HB 4, February 27, 2018). Skyrocketing malpractice insurance pushes doctors out of rural Kentucky. Turner sided with the trial lawyers.
More of the record
No on SB 176 (2013), SB 211 (2014), and HB 520 (2017). Parents wanted options. Turner protected the system.
No on SB 90 (2015) and SB 89 (2016), which would have lifted Kentucky's nuclear ban and expanded how the state generates electricity.
Elected 2000. Defeated 2020. Now running for a different seat in 2026. The voters already gave their answer.
In his own words
An adamant no on pension reform. A no on protecting police. A no on capping state debt. Twenty years of votes, all pointing one direction.
Johnny Ray Turner had two decades in Frankfort. He pleaded guilty in a vote buying scheme, voted against protecting police, and looked out for his own pension first. He's had his time. It's time for a change.
The receipts
[1]Senator likely to be indicted, lawyer says
WAVE 3 News — 5/3/2005
https://www.wave3.com/story/3294534/senator-likely-to-be-indicted-lawyer-says/[2]Indictment coverage (archived)
Votelaw — 5/5/2005
https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202844/http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/003058.html[3]United States v. Johnny Ray Turner, Ross Harris and Loren Glenn Turner, E.D. Ky., No. 3:05-cr-00002-KKC (filed 5/5/2005)
U.S. District Court, E.D. Ky. (PACER) — 5/5/2005
https://pcl.uscourts.gov/pcl/index.jsf[4]Lawmakers begin meeting to choose leaders
WAVE 3 News — 1/2/2007
https://www.wave3.com/story/5880638/lawmakers-begin-meeting-to-choose-leaders/[5]HB 14, 2017 Regular Session, Senate roll call 3/7/2017. Turner voted NAY.
Kentucky Legislature — 3/7/2017
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/17RS/hb14.html[6]HB 1, 2012 Special Session, Senate roll call 4/20/2012. Turner voted NAY.
Kentucky Legislature — 4/20/2012
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/12SS/hb1.html[7]Senate passes bill to outlaw tobacco use in Kentucky schools
Kentucky Living — 2/15/2017
https://www.kentuckyliving.com/news/senate-passes-bill-outlaw-tobacco-use-ky-schools[8]Meeting addresses state pensions
Middlesboro News — 11/3/2017
https://middlesboronews.com/2017/11/03/meeting-addresses-state-pensions/[9]SB 94, 2015 Regular Session, Senate roll call 2/27/2015. Turner voted NAY.
Kentucky Legislature — 2/27/2015
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/15RS/sb94.html[10]SB 119, 2014 Regular Session, Senate roll call 2/19/2014. Turner voted NAY.
Kentucky Legislature — 2/19/2014
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/14RS/sb119.html[11]HB 4, 2018 Regular Session, Senate roll call 2/27/2018. Turner voted NAY.
Kentucky Legislature — 2/27/2018
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/18RS/hb4.html[12]SB 176, 2013 Regular Session, Senate roll call 3/5/2013. Turner voted NAY.
Kentucky Legislature — 3/5/2013
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/13RS/sb176.html[13]SB 211, 2014 Regular Session, Senate roll call 3/25/2014. Turner voted NAY.
Kentucky Legislature — 3/25/2014
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/14RS/sb211.html[14]HB 520, 2017 Regular Session, Senate roll call 3/15/2017. Turner voted NAY.
Kentucky Legislature — 3/15/2017
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/17RS/hb520.html[15]SB 90, 2015 Regular Session, Senate roll call 3/3/2015. Turner voted NAY.
Kentucky Legislature — 3/3/2015
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/15RS/sb90.html[16]SB 89, 2016 Regular Session, Senate roll call 3/1/2016. Turner voted NAY.
Kentucky Legislature — 3/1/2016
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/16RS/sb89.html[17]2020 General Election results, State Senate District 29
Kentucky Secretary of State — 2020
https://elect.ky.gov/results/Pages/default.aspx[18]Former Sen. Turner files for 95th District state House
News-Express — 12/31/2025
https://www.news-expressky.com/news/former-sen-turner-files-for-95th-district-state-house/article_14148f51-17ab-4001-bdc7-7ea5dbc8ce6a.html
