[6] During her Freshman year, Van Duyn was awarded the Green-Tie by the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters and named a Rising Star for her 100% record on the environment.

[9] Van Duyn has been vocally pro-choice during her time in office, and has opposed waiting periods for women seeking abortions.

In a 2018 interview, Van Duyn was quoted saying 'To suggest to a woman who has made that difficult decision, that she needs to go home and think about it for another three days, especially when you have women for whom that's an economic hardship as well, that's just, it's an abuse of power.

'[10] In December 2018, Van Duyn announced that she plans to run for Lieutenant Governor in 2020, stepping down from her role as Minority Whip to focus on the campaign.

[12] During the 2018 election cycles, Van Duyn partnered with Cooper to win the six seats needed to break the Republican supermajority and was the lead fundraiser for the Senate Democratic Caucus.