Draft:Susan King (politician)

Susan Lewis King (Lewis) is an American politician. She formerly represented the 71st legislative district in the Texas House of Representatives as a Republican, from 2007–2017.

Personal life
King was born in Houston and attended University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated with a degree in nursing. She worked at The Texas Heart Institute, Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, and Texas Children's Hospital. She moved to Abilene in 1979, where she opened Elm Place Ambulatory Surgical Center.

She married Austin King in 1976, and had three children and three grandchildren.

King was elected to the Abilene Independent School District School Board, where she served from 1998–2006, serving two years as board president.

After losing the election for the Texas Senate, King began studying at Abilene Christian University for degrees in social work and Christian ministry. She graduated in 2021 with a master's degree in social work.

Texas House of Representatives
King was elected in 2006 to the 71st legislative district, where she served five terms from 2007–2017, becoming the first woman to represent the 71st district. The previous Representative, Robert C. Hunter, retired, and King ran against three others. She came second in the primary and won by 105 votes in the runoff election, proceeding to win 57% of the vote in the general election. She served on the Public Health Committee and in Health and Human Services within the House Appropriations Committee for three terms, before sitting on the House Administration Committee under veteran affairs.

Committees

 * House Appropriations Committee
 * Health and Human Services
 * Current Financial Condition
 * Public Health Committee
 * House Administration Committee

Texas Senate
In 2016, King unsuccessfully ran for the Texas Senate in District 24, after Troy Fraser vacated the seat. She lost to Dawn Buckingham during the primary in a runoff election. During the election campaign, King took time off for depression.