Dukes was elected to Oregon's 1st Senate district in 1986 and was reelected in 1990, 1994, and 1998.
In 2002, she was redistricted into Oregon's 16th Senate district and won reelection there.
[2] In the Senate, Dukes advocated for a diverse set of issues, including transportation, pain management, and commercial fishing.
[1] Dukes resigned from the Senate in 2005, after being appointed to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council by Governor Ted Kulongowski.
At the time of her resignation, she was the Oregon Senate's longest-serving current member.