 During his second of three terms in the Senate, Burdette became Majority Leader and then in September 1989, was elected the 42nd president of the state senate and first in the line of gubernatorial succession at the historic age of only 34.Keith Burdette led efforts to reform the state's ethics laws; overhaul education funding and the Public Insurance Program.Working with Governor Caperton, he led the Senate through a series of financial reforms that rescued the state from near bankruptcy.