John Perley "Jerry" Rusk[1] (17 June 1873 – 8 December 1943) was an American politician who served in the Oregon House of Representatives.

[2] From 1908 to 1913, Rusk, a Republican, served in the Oregon House of Representatives for Wallowa County.

He had defeated the incumbent, James A. Greenwood, whom he later accused of retaining items that had belonged to the public office.

The two men engaged in a fist fight in which Rusk sustained a fractured skull.

[3] Rusk made another unsuccessful attempt at running for Congress in 1930, this time as a Democrat in Wyoming.