McKeown won the 2012 election by 12 points with 52.7% of the vote, having focused on transportation and resource development issues.

In 2018, she had a closer race contended by Teri Grier, a former D.C. and Arizona staffer for the corrupt Congressman Rick Renzi, who eventually received a three-year prison sentence.

In 2018, in the Democratic primary, she beat outgoing Coos Bay school board member Mark Daily, 80.7% to 17.9%.

As chair of the Transportation & Economic Development Committee, McKeown has focused on overseeing issues salient in her district.

She is known in particular for having successfully worked across party lines to achieve her goals, including crafting a transportation package that will funnel $150 million over a decade to build and maintain her district's critical roads and bridges.