Charlotte Gentry Burks (born October 3, 1942) is a farmer and Democratic party politician in Tennessee who represented the 15th district as State Senator from 1998 until 2015.
[2] In 1998, after Burks' husband was assassinated during an election campaign by his Republican challenger Byron (Low-Tax) Looper, she became a write-in candidate for his seat.
Although she did not campaign, family members and friends campaigned extensively on her behalf, and she defeated Looper by a landslide margin,[3] receiving 95% of the vote[4] and becoming the first write-in candidate to win a seat in the Tennessee State Senate.
[3] Steakley challenged the results, claiming irregularities on election day, but a State Senate committee found that there was insufficient evidence to question the outcome.
[5][6] In the Senate, Burks served as the secretary of the education committee; as a member of the joint study economic development; government operations; select on children and youth; and the environment, conservation, and tourism committees.