Rehder spent eight years in the
Missouri House of Representatives holding the seat for the 148th District. In the state House, Rehder sponsored a
right-to-work law, which was opposed by
organized labor. She also sponsored legislation to legalize
needle-exchange programs as a way to prevent the spread of
hepatitis C and
HIV and to encourage intravenous drug users to seek treatment. Since taking office in 2013, Rehder campaigned for legislation to establish a state database to track prescriptions for addictive drugs such as
opioids. The proposal was endorsed by Governor
Mike Parson, but faced resistance from some legislators who cited privacy concerns, and failed to advance in several legislative sessions. She won the Republican
primary election in August 2020 by a narrow margin of 141 votes, defeating
Kathryn Swan; Rehder received 16,839 votes (50.2%) to Swan's 16,698 votes (49.8%). She was easily elected in the heavily Republican district in the 2020 general election, The 27th Senate district covers a geographically large region in southeast Missouri, Rehder praised
Donald Trump and in 2019 pledged to promote "the Trump Agenda" in Southeast Missouri. Amid the
COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri, Rehder was one of five Republican state senators who called on Governor Parson to call a
special session to pass legislation to ban employer mandates for employees to be
vaccinated against COVID-19, including mandates by both public entities and private businesses. Rehder co-sponsored a bill adapted from
Cicero Institute model legislation that criminalized sleeping on public land. It was struck down by the
Supreme Court of Missouri. In
2024 she ran for
lieutenant governor coming in third in the primary behind fellow
state senator Lincoln Hough and the winner
David Wasinger. ==Electoral history==