[4] Walters graduated from Dana Hills High School (1980) before earning a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1984.

[2] She was an investment executive at the firm of Drexel Burnham Lambert, and later joined the firm of Kidder, Peabody, & Co.[5][1] After serving as chair of Laguna Niguel's Investment and Banking Committee, Walters was appointed to the Laguna Niguel City Council in 1996, after the recently re-elected incumbent Thomas W. Wilson resigned to be appointed to the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

[7] In 2013, the California Fair Political Practices Commission cleared Walters of wrongdoing in a conflict of interest investigation "into phone calls made by her office on behalf of a company once co-owned by her husband".

[10] Democratic candidate and trial lawyer Steve Young filed an unsuccessful civil lawsuit in an attempt to keep Walters' name off of the 2012 ballot.

[12] She was endorsed by a number of Republican members of Congress from California, including Campbell, Kevin McCarthy, Darrell Issa, and Ed Royce.

[14] Walters was placed in the National Republican Congressional Committee's (NRCC) "Contender" category of their "Young Guns" program.

"[21] In September 2018, the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), the largest Republican super PAC active in U.S. House races, announced a $400,000 ad buy in support of Walters' campaign.

[23] The CLF pushed back on the Los Angeles Times report, saying they had reserved over $3 million in Walters' district and had begun advertising there in August.

In fund-raising e-mails sent to supporters, Walters made unsubstantiated claims of fraud, alleging that Democrats were seeking to "steal" her seat by tampering with votes.

[35][failed verification][36][37] In July 2016, FiveThirtyEight labeled Walters an "Eager Unifier", for having endorsed Trump wholeheartedly, but not until after the Indiana primary.

"Forcing a shift away from traditional energy resources", she explained, "would ultimately stifle the economy for years to come and harm consumers' pocketbooks."

Walters also co-sponsored the Stopping EPA Overreach Act of 2017, which became law, and which declares that there is no legal requirement to regulate global warming.

After they explained to her how the market-based approach of carbon fee and dividend could have a positive impact on the climate, without expanding government, Walters replied, "You guys are doing it the right way".

In July 2017, Walters voted to veto the Perry Amendment, which would have de-funded Defense Department efforts to track climate change and its threats to military bases.

[46] In October 2017, after President Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement, "Walters officially changed from a climate-change skeptic to a believer ... and joined the Congressional Climate Solutions Caucus".

[54][55] In early 2017, Walters tweeted that she was "committed to protecting patients w/ pre-existing conditions to ensure their access to quality, affordable health care".

[56] However, USA Today noted that the version of the American Health Care Act that she voted in favor of allows insurance companies to charge higher premiums to individuals with pre-existing conditions (such as cancer, epilepsy, diabetes, and pregnancy).

[59] Then-Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) named Walters as one of seven Republican representatives who switched their votes regarding a bill upholding an executive order prohibiting defense contractors from discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation.

"[62] In March 2018, Walters signed a bi-partisan letter in support of funding to re-start the licensing process for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), introduced by Walters, Ann Wagner (R-Missouri), and Carolyn Maloney (D-New York).

[9] A 2017 congressional financial disclosure form showed Walters' had holdings in Boustead Securities, Laguna Advisory Services, and an apartment building in Encinitas, California.