Before being elected to office in the state legislature, Turner served on the Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
[3][4] In the 1971 general election, Turner ran for Senate in District 3A and won by a margin of 11 votes over Democrat Louis J.
[5] With Damminger trailing by 40 votes on election day, a recount was demanded which took until late December to certify the final 11-vote margin.
The challenges that election officials encountered with the recount was one of the key factors convincing Gloucester County to announce in May 1974 that it was going to switch from paper ballots to a computerized system.
[8] After his sentencing on the charge of planting drugs on Gewertz, Turner stated that he had no intention of dropping out of the race, saying "I intend to win, and I expect the Senate to seat me", despite the probability that the Senate would deny him the right to serve in office, even if he won the seat.