Clarke was the first woman to serve in the Oregon state Senate and made national headlines as an example of the progress women were making in government as a result of gaining the vote. A Douglas County hotel manager by trade, Clarke came from a privileged upbringing which helped vault her to a position of power. Her cousin Oswald West was elected governor of Oregon in 1910 and, following the resignation of a state senator in 1915, he appointed Clarke to the position.

County officials, wary of this appointment, ordered a special election to either confirm or oust the freshman senator. In response, Clarke ran a strong Republican campaign which endorsed supporting law enforcement and saving taxpayer money. It was a close race, and Clarke won her position by a narrow margin of 76 votes. Following her election, she worked for her Douglas County constituents by supporting bills that amended county boundaries and raised salaries for county employees. Later that same year, Clarke began pushing for a federal amendment for women’s voting rights as a member of the Oregon branch of Alice Paul’s Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage.