Charlotte Burks

Politician

1942 –

97

Who is Charlotte Burks?

Charlotte Gentry Burks is a farmer and Democratic party politician in Tennessee who has represented the 15th District as State Senator since 1998.

Burks was born in 1942 in Gainesboro, Tennessee, and lives in Monterey, Tennessee. She was married to Tommy Burks, a Tennessee State Senator. In 1998, after her husband was assassinated during an election campaign by his Republican challenger Byron Looper, she became a write-in candidate for his seat. Although she did not campaign, she defeated Looper by a landslide margin, receiving 95% of the vote and becoming the first write-in candidate to win a seat in the Tennessee State Senate. She began her Senate service with the 101st General Assembly.

She was reelected in 2002 and 2006 with no substantive opposition. In 2010, when Republicans picked up many seats in the General Assembly, Burks won re-election to a fourth four-year term by a margin of just 183 votes over her Republican opponent, Gary Steakley. Burks carried five of the six counties in the largely rural district, losing only in Cumberland County. An independent candidate placed third in the vote.

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Born
Oct 2, 1942
Gainesboro
Spouses
Religion
  • Churches of Christ
Profession

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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