Background
Cusack was born in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, and resides in DeLand, Florida.
Cusack was born in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, and resides in DeLand, Florida.
Her district covered a part of Volusia County, Florida. She was first elected to the House in 2000, when she defeated Pat Patterson for the District 26 seat, and was subsequently re-elected in 2004. Some of the committees that Cusack was affiliated with were Trade and Banking, Health Care General, Select Committee on Medicaid Reform, Spaceport and Technology, State Infrastructure Council, Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations.
Cusack was re-elected to a fourth term in the Florida House, beating former Ormond Beach Mayor Dave Hood with about 63 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results on November 7, 2006.
Her victory led a trend of incumbent representatives winning re-election to the Florida House of Representatives. She currently serves as the Democratic Leader pro tempore of the Florida House, making her the number two ranking Democratic member.
Cusack, who was awarded an honorary doctorate degree at Bethune-Cookman University, left the Florida Legislature in May 2008 due to term limits. In 2014, Cusack retained her at-large seat, defeating political veteran Pat Northey.
She is a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 27th District and a member of the Democratic Party. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.