 Field gained brief national notoriety when she confronted presidential candidate Barry Goldwater over right to work laws at the 1964 Republican National Convention.Field served as a Republican legislator in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1956–1960 and 1962-1966.Betty Roberts, a Democrat legislator who served with Field, described Field as "a good debater and she’s very blunt, forthright, and takes on any opposition, man or woman, very seriously."