Hoyle was appointed to the Oregon House of Representatives in August 2009 to replace Chris Edwards, who was appointed to the Oregon State Senate. In 2010, she was re-elected to a full term, defeating Republican Dwight Coon and Independent Kevin Prociw. On November 6, 2012, Hoyle again defeated Coon to win a second full term. Prior to the 2011 Legislative Session, she was elected Assistant Caucus Leader of the Oregon House Democrats. During the 2011 Legislative Session, Hoyle was Co-Vice Chair of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, and served on the House Committees on Health Care and Business & Labor. She also served on the Governor's Health Care Transformation Team. On November 15, 2012, after House Democrats selected Tina Kotek to be the next Speaker of the Oregon House, Hoyle was elected to lead the Oregon House Democrats in her role as House Majority Leader for the 2013 Legislative Session. During the 2013 Legislative Session, Hoyle served as Co-Chair of the House Task Force on O&C Counties and Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Rules. Shortly before the 2014 Legislative Session, former State Representative Chris Garrett received an executive appointment to the Oregon Court of Appeals and Hoyle was named Chair of the House Committee on Rules. Hoyle also served as a Legislative Co-Chair of the Oregon Elder Abuse Prevention Workgroup. After Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber resigned in February 2015, elevating Kate Brown to the governorship, Hoyle was named by The Oregonian as a possible successor to Brown as Oregon Secretary of State. Rep Hoyle stepped down as Majority Leader in 2015 to campaign for Oregon's Secretary of State. In the 2016 Democratic primary, she came in second place, receiving 33.81% of the vote to Democratic nominee Brad Avakian's 39.06%. When Oregon State Senator Chris Edwards announced his mid-term resignation after the 2016 general election, Hoyle sought to be appointed to fill his vacancy in Senate District 7. Hoyle failed to secure the appointment, receiving votes from Republican Commissioners Sid Leiken and Jay Bozievich, while Democratic EWEB commissioner James Manning won the support of the other three County Commissioners. The appointment process received scrutiny as a clash between factions of local Democrats that partly stemmed from the 2012 primary election for County Commissioner District 3, which pitted Democratic incumbent Pete Sorenson and his endorsers against Hoyle and other state legislators from Lane County, who endorsed Sorenson's opponent. Sorenson cast the tie-breaking vote to appoint Manning over Hoyle to fill the legislative vacancy. In 2018, Hoyle ran to become Oregon's 10th Labor Commissioner, a non-partisan elected position. She won the race outright in May receiving 52% of the vote and winning 17 of 36 counties. Lou Ogden, former Tualatin mayor, received 36% and Jack Howard, a La Grande attorney and former Union County Commissioner, received 12%. The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries is a 4-year term and has offices in Portland, Eugene, Bend and Medford and oversees enforcement of wage and hour laws including prevailing wage, civil rights enforcement, certifies apprenticeship programs and provides employment law technical assistance for employers.
