In 1798, Turner was elected to the
North Carolina House of Commons; he served there from 1799 to 1800, and served in the
North Carolina Senate from 1801 to 1802.
Governor of Turner In 1802, the General Assembly elected
John Baptista Ashe governor, but he died before he could assume office; Turner was chosen in his place and sworn in on December 5, 1802. He served the constitutional limit of three one-year terms and, at the end of his time as governor, was elected to the
United States Senate when
Montfort Stokes resigned before serving the term to which he had been elected.
U.S. Senate Turner served as a senator for eleven years, re-elected to a second term in 1811, resigning due to ill health in 1816. During his time in office, he supported the administration of
James Madison during the
War of 1812. Around 1805, he introduced to the Senate a
bill outlawing the importation of slaves. == Personal life, death, legacy ==