While in secondary school, Stark-Watzinger initially joined the Young Union (JU), the joint youth organisation of the two conservative German political parties, CDU and CSU.

[13][14] In this capacity, she was a member of the parliament's Council of Elders, which – among other duties – determines daily legislative agenda items and assigns committee chairpersons based on party representation.

In addition to her committee assignments, Stark-Watzinger has been part of the German Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the States of South Asia since 2018.

[16] Following the 2021 federal election, the FDP entered a traffic light coalition government, and Stark-Watzinger took office as Minister of Education and Research in the Scholz cabinet on 8 December 2021.

In March 2023, Stark-Watzinger became the first German minister to visit Taiwan in 26 years, leading the Chinese Foreign Ministry to file a strong protest with Germany about her "vile conduct".

[17] At the FDP's national convention in April 2023, Stark-Watzinger was elected by delegates as one of three deputies of chairman Christian Lindner, succeeding Nicola Beer.

[25] In July 2024, Döring filed a lawsuit with the Berlin district court against the ministry to ensure that she was allowed to publicly comment on the affair.