Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves urges state senator to resign following arrest

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi’s lieutenant governor is urging a state senator to resign from a leadership position after the senator’s third arrest on suspicion of drunken driving.

Laura Hipp, spokeswoman for Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, says Friday that Reeves has made clear to Senate President Pro Tempore Terry Burton that he believes Burton “should relinquish his leadership post.”

The lieutenant governor cannot remove the pro tem, who is elected by the 52 state senators.

Reeves and Burton are both Republicans and have been allies. As pro tem, Burton helps advance legislation that the lieutenant governor wants and presides over the Senate when Reeves is unavailable.

Burton issued a statement Friday apologizing for causing “embarrassment” to friends, family and colleagues after his Wednesday arrest. He also said he would consider seeking professional counseling.

The 62-year-old Republican was arrested Wednesday in Starkville and charged with DUI second offense and failure to maintain proper lane. He was released on $992 bail.

Burton pleaded guilty after a 2014 DUI arrest in Brandon. He was acquitted after a 2016 DUI arrest in Scott County when a judge ruled that cough syrup and breath spray that Burton said he used right after an accident must have caused a false positive on a breath test.

Burton has been a senator since 1992.

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