Lusk, Georgia L. (Georgia Lee), 1893-1971

Georgia Lee Witt Lusk (May 12, 1893 – January 5, 1971) was asn American educator, politician, and public servant. She was the first female member of Congress from New Mexico, representing the state in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1949.

Born Georgia Lee Witt on a ranch near Carlsbad, New Mexico, she graduated from Carlsbad High School in 1912 before attending Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico and Colorado State Teachers College (now the University of North Colorado) at Greeley before graduating from the New Mexico State Teachers' College (now Western New Mexico University) in Silver City in 1914. She worked as a teacher for a year before marrying Dolph Lusk, a cattleman, in 1915. Dolph Lusk died in 1919, leaving Georgia with three young sons and a family ranch to run. While also running the family ranch, the young widow resumed her teaching career to support her family.

In 1924 Lusk became school superintendent of Lea County, New Mexico. After an unsuccessful bid in 1928, she was elected state superintendent of public instruction in 1930, serving until 1935. A year later, she took on the superintendent position for rural Guadalupe County, before serving as New Mexico state superintendent again from 1944 until 1947. During her long tenure in school administration, Lusk often witnessed discouraging circumstances in New Mexico classrooms, such as severe book shortages and schoolroom overcrowding. A shrewd administrator, she found state funding, even during the Depression, to improve school conditions. Her eight years of leadership as state superintendent moved New Mexico from near the bottom of the nationwide school financing list to the top.

In 1946 she entered the campaign for the Democratic nomination for one of New Mexico's two at-large seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. She beat all odds to win the primary over six rivals, all of which were notable Democratic bosses. Lusk somehow defied and prevailed over the heavily entrenched patronage in the State Democratic Party, which sent shock waves through state politics but was overshadowed when she handily won the general election and became the first woman ever to represent New Mexico in the United States Congress. During her time in Congress, she was determined to improve the education system, supporting the establishment of a Cabinet-level department of education, fought for increased benefits for returning war veterans and supported the foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration.

In the June 1948 Democratic primary, Georgia Lusk sought renomination for her At-Large seat but fell short in a three-way election split. In September 1949, President Truman appointed her to the War Claims Commission, where she served with other Democratic appointees until their dismissal by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. Lusk returned to Albuquerque and continued her crusade for education, serving again as the state superintendent of public schools. Lusk retired from public service in 1960. She died in Albuquerque, New Mexico.