On 22 September 2010, Keller-Sutter was a candidate for the Swiss Federal Council to succeed Hans-Rudolf Merz but was not elected; Johann Schneider-Ammann won the seat.[2] On 23 October 2011, she was elected with 65% of the vote to represent the canton of St. Gallen in the Council of States. She served as President of the Council of States in 2017–2018.