Editing Byron Looper (section)

== Campaign after the murder ==

Tennessee state law required that the name of a candidate who died before the election be removed from the [[ballot]], and it did not allow the candidate's party to replace a deceased candidate who died within 30 days of the election.<ref name="pop" /> Accordingly, after Burks's death, Looper became the only candidate listed on the official ballot for Burks's senate seat.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-nov-04-mn-39309-story.html |title=Widow of Tennessee Senator Defeats Rival Accused in Slaying |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=November 4, 1998 |access-date=June 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306193000/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/04/news/mn-39309 |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several people tried to have Looper's name stricken from the ballot, claiming that Looper's arrest constituted [[moral turpitude]]. The state Republican Party distanced itself from Looper.<ref>{{Cite news |title=NATIONAL DATELINES |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/NATION-DATELINES-3062688.php}}</ref> To prevent Looper from winning the state senate seat on a technicality, Burks's widow was put forth as a [[write-in candidate]] for her husband's seat. Dozens of volunteers helped her campaign, including some Republicans. On election day, Charlotte Burks, as a write-in candidate, won the seat with 30,252 votes (95.18%) against Looper's 1,531 votes (4.82%).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/05/us/the-1998-elections-the-states-candidate-s-widow-wins-in-tennessee.html |title=The 1998 Elections; Candidate's Widow Wins in Tennessee |newspaper=New York Times |date=November 5, 1998 |access-date=February 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912091941/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/05/us/the-1998-elections-the-states-candidate-s-widow-wins-in-tennessee.html |archive-date=September 12, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com/sos/election/results/1998-11/senate.pdf|title=STATE OF TENNESSEE STATE SENATE NOVEMBER 3, 1998 - GENERAL ELECTION|website=[[Tennessee Secretary of State]]|date= December 11, 1998|accessdate=September 2, 2024}}</ref> One of her first initiatives as state senator was to introduce legislation to ensure that the name of any candidate who dies within 40 days of an election could remain on the ballot, thus preventing the situation that occurred after her husband's death.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19981212&id=fM8dAAAAIBAJ&pg=2731,1958827 |title=Bill keeps the dead on ballot |newspaper=Tuscaloosa News |date=December 12, 1998 |page=2B |access-date=October 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160517040741/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19981212&id=fM8dAAAAIBAJ&sjid=r6cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2731,1958827 |archive-date=May 17, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Charlotte Burks won re-election in 2002, 2006, and 2010. She retired after the 2014 election.