Okotel joined the Liberal Party in 2010 after the party's success at the Victorian state election. In 2012, she was elected as councillor for the Rosstown ward of the Glen Eira City Council, and later became deputy mayor.[5] During 2016, she resigned from the Glen Eira Council to run for the Australian Senate.[6] She was in the sixth place on the Liberal Party ticket and was unsuccessful.[7] She was elected as federal Liberal Party vice-president in June 2017.[8]
Since 2015, Okotel has been a leading opponent of legalising gay marriage in Australia. In September 2017, she decided to come out of maternity leave to support the Coalition for Marriage.[9] She wrote an opinion piece for The Australian describing her fears for the freedom of speech, religion and association if same-sex marriage was legalised.[10][11] On 12 September, she debated Christine Forster on ABC Radio National.[12] On 13 September, she spoke at the National Press Club, alongside Lyle Shelton, for the campaign against same sex marriage.[13] On 23 September, she was a panellist on the ABC Q&A same-sex marriage debate.[14]
She served as Commonwealth Liberal Vice President until she was replaced by Teena McQueen in October 2019.[15]
In August 2020, she was suspended from a senior Liberal party committee following concerns over a branch stacking scandal[16] implicating close associate Marcus Bastian and MP Michael Sukkar and concerns she breached party rules compiling a dirt sheet on sitting MPs.[17] Sukkar and MP Kevin Andrews were later cleared of using tax payer funds to recruit party members.[18] The party's local government committee decided on the suspension of Okotel, just weeks after Ms Okotel was installed to the position, The Australian reported.[19]
In 2020, Okotel had a falling out with Liberal Party powerbroker Marcus Bastiaan and has since been factionally linked with party president Robert Clark and former Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien.[20]
Okotel was one of very few senior figures within the Victorian Liberal Party who supported the yes vote in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.[21]