Liebling's political career began in 2002, when she first ran for the District 30A seat, finishing second behind former state representative Carla Nelson in a three-way race.

[6] In 2012, running in a slightly altered district due to redistricting, she defeated Breanna Bly, a Rochester School Board member, 58.8% to 41.0%.

When the DFL retook the majority after the 2012 election, she became chair of the Health and Human Services Policy Committee for the 2013-14 biennium.

[11] Liebling supported Senator Bernie Sanders during the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries, breaking with state party leadership.

[13] She finished fifth in the Minnesota DFL gubernatorial preference poll in February 2018 with about 6% of the vote statewide [14] and dropped out of the race the next month.

She married her husband, Dr. Mark Liebow, shortly after law school, and moved to the Chicago area, where her three children were born.