 She won the vacant seat through a special election after the death of her husband and former senator Keith Leftwich.She was a key figure in the 2010 Oklahoma political corruption investigation for her role in a bribery scheme in which she was accused of agreeing to not run for re-election in 2010 in exchange for a state job with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME).Born in Chandler, Oklahoma, Leftwitch grew up in Wellston, Oklahoma where she graduated from Wellston High School.