In response to the terrorist attack perpetrated on counter-protesters of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Walker attended a vigil with her oldest son, which was held on the campus of West Virginia University. Her son, then a student of WVU, had previously considered attending the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. Walker has stated that she felt compelled to speak out against the alt-right movement at the vigil, after thinking of the potential that her son could have been a victim of the attack, should he have chosen to ultimately attend UVA. Members of the local Democratic Party, impressed by Walker's speech, later recruited her to run as a candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates' 51st district. Walker accepted the proposition and won election in November 2018. She was re-elected to a second term in November 2020.