Iris Faircloth Blitch (April 25, 1912 – August 19, 1993) was a United States representative from Georgia. She was the fourth woman to represent Georgia in the Congress,[1] and the first to win a regularly scheduled general election.[2][a] Blitch was a vocal advocate both for women's rights and racial segregation.[3]
In 1946, Blitch was elected to the Georgia Senate; she was subsequently elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1948 but lost her reelection bid to that office in 1950.[4] She won election to the state Senate again in 1952 and remained in that position through December 31, 1954.[4] From 1948 through 1954, Blitch was Georgia's Democratic Party national committee member.
A staunch segregationist, in 1956, Blitch was among the 101 Southern politicians to sign the Southern Manifesto.[1] She won re-election to three additional terms in that seat before choosing not to seek reelection in 1962 due to severe arthritis.[5] In 1964, Mrs. Blitch left the Democratic Party and endorsed Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater.[6]
Switched back to Democrat to campaign for Jimmy Carter during his gubernatorial election. [7]
Five days after her 1954 election, Blitch appeared on the American television show What's My Line.[8]