Career
He was reelected in the 2000 election. Herron was one of a handful of new Progressive Conservative "young Turk" parliamentarians - along with Scott Brison, André Bachand, and Peter MacKay - considered the youthful leadership material that would restore the ailing Tories to their glory days. After Progressive Conservative leader Jean Charest resigned in April 1998 to lead Quebec Federalists as leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, Herron and fellow Member of Parliament Jim Jones met with Stephen Harper to explore Harper"s interest in the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party.
Herron concluded that there was a lack of alignment between the two on a series of public policy matters, and later teamed with Scott Brison to support Joe Clark"s candidacy and his subsequent return as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
Herron became infamous during the 2003 Personal Computer leadership election when he abandoned the campaign of Scott Brison to support Peter MacKay before the second ballot. Many blamed this loss on Herron and a handful of his riding delegates who followed him to the MacKay camp.
On February 6, 2004, he announced that he would sit for the remainder of the Parliamentary session as an "independent Progressive Conservative", and that he would run in the 2004 election as a candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada. One of Herron"s last official acts as a sitting Member of Parliament was his deliverance of the "Progressive Conservative party caucus" tribute to retiring party leader Joe Clark in May 2004.
Herron lost his seat in the 2004 election to Conservative Party candidate Rob Moore.