[9] At the time of her election, Watson was the youngest person on the Board of Education and was the only member with a child in the county school system.

[13] In September 2013, Watson announced her candidacy for Howard County executive, seeking to succeed Ken Ulman.

[19] In 2016, Watson served as DNC delegate from Maryland's 7th congressional district in the Democratic primary, pledged to Clinton.

She was a presidential elector in the 2016 general election from Maryland, pledged to Clinton and Tim Kaine, when she signed a letter demanding an intelligence briefing on the alleged Russian hacking.

[28][29] She was criticized by progressives for supporting Governor Larry Hogan's re-election campaign over Democratic nominee Ben Jealous.

[4] In 2020, she again served as a DNC delegate from Maryland's 7th congressional district in the Democratic primary, pledged to Joe Biden.

[36] In 2021, Watson co-sponsored legislation that would allow restaurants and bars to permanently legalize alcohol delivery if it was bought along with prepared food.

[39] During her 2002 campaign, Watson supported providing enrichment programs for children who do not qualify for gifted or special education classes.

[40] In May 2010, Watson voted to halve funding for Healthy Howard, a county program to provide health care services to uninsured individuals, because she felt it wasn't helping enough people for the cost.

[48] In June 2021, Watson criticized Governor Hogan's decision to end expanded unemployment benefits provided under the American Rescue Plan Act.

[49] During her 2014 executive campaign, Watson supported providing free bus transportation to the county's senior population.