Smith began her political career in a special election in 1983 when she defeated a Democratic Party incumbent to win a seat in the Washington House of Representatives.

Having secured a ballot line as the Republican nominee through her September write-in campaign, she went on to defeat liberal three-term Democrat Jolene Unsoeld in November.

In November 1997, Smith was one of eighteen Republicans in the House to co-sponsor a resolution by Bob Barr that sought to launch an impeachment inquiry against President Bill Clinton.

[1] In the fall of 1998, while still a member of the U.S. Congress, Smith traveled to Falkland Road in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, which is one of the worst brothel districts in the world.

The hopeless faces of desperate women and children forced into prostitution compelled her to found Shared Hope International (SHI), a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating sex-trafficking.

Today, Shared Hope provides leadership in awareness and training, prevention strategies, restorative care, research, and policy initiatives to mobilize a national network of protection for victims.

In February 2003, WATA co-sponsored a World Summit with the U.S. Department of State, which brought together non-government and government leaders from 114 nations, all demonstrating a sustained commitment to prosecuting trafficking, providing assistance to victims, and building regional strategies to protect the vulnerable from the sex trade.

report, since 2006 Smith and Shared Hope International have partnered with Anti-Trafficking Task Forces in ten U.S. cities with funding from the U.S Department of Justice,[20] to identify and provide services to American victims of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST).

[23] In 2009, Smith released a book titled Renting Lacy: A Story of America's Prostituted Children, which explores the traumas endured by young girls who are used in the commercial sex industry.

Brianna, Lacy and Maria discuss how modern American pimps and gangs are luring youth into the commercial sex industry and how teens can protect themselves and others from being chosen.

[28][29] She has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, USA Today, Dan Rather Reports, ABC News, the Dr. Phil Show,[30] O'Reilly Factor,[31] and CBN.