Burke graduated in 1906, moved to Chadron, Nebraska, where he taught school until 1908.

As a result, he failed to be renominated for the seat in 1940, losing the Democratic primary to Governor Robert L. Cochran.

In the general election, he endorsed Republican nominee Wendell Willkie[1] He also endorsed Hugh A. Butler, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, who defeated Cochran in the general election.

He resumed his law practice in Omaha in 1941 and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1942 to serve as president of the Southern Coal Producers Association until 1947.

He was a Washington representative and general counsel for Hawaiian Statehood Commission until 1950, when he retired to Kensington, Maryland.