Turner was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Charles T. O'Ferrall.
He was reelected to the Fifty-fourth Congress and served from January 30, 1894, to March 3, 1897.
He was not a candidate for renomination in 1896.
He died in Front Royal, Virginia, April 8, 1898.
He was interred in Prospect Hill Cemetery.
1894 election
Turner was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election unopposed. He was later re-elected in the general election with 52.12% of the vote, defeating Republican Robert J. Walker, Populist Jacob S. Hopkins, and Independent G.T. Barbee.