After moving to Eagle Grove she became active in civic life and Republican Party politics.

In 1974, during the wake of the Watergate scandal, President Gerald Ford named her the first female chair of the Republican National Committee.

[1] She campaigned for George H. W. Bush in the 1980 primaries, but supported Ronald Reagan both in the 1980 and 1984 general elections.

Reagan appointed her vice-chairwoman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights in 1981, but declined to re-appoint her in 1984.

Influenced by her husband's experiences as a medic during the Vietnam War, Smith had become active in movements to establish a national peace institute, and she served with USIP until her death.