Van de Putte represented Texas Senate District 26, which consists of a large portion of San Antonio and Bexar County, from 1999–2015. She has represented the district ever since she won a special election to the Senate in 1999. In 2003, she was appointed Chair of the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus, a position she held until 2011. Van de Putte was appointed chair of the Veteran Affairs and Military Installations Committee in 2003, and was a member of the Senate Committees on Education, State Affairs, and Business and Commerce. She was also co-chair of the Joint Committee on Human Trafficking.