As the first Hispanic female governor in history, little girls often come up to me in the grocery store or the mall. They look and point, and when they get the courage, they ask 'Are you Susana?' and they run up and give me a hug.

At 18, I guarded the parking lot at the Catholic Church bingos. Now my dad made sure I could take care of myself. I carried a Smith and Wesson 357 Magnum .

Growing up I never imagined a little girl from a border town could one day become a governor. But this is America. In America algo es possible.

I fear some of our leaders today have lost the courage to stand up. What we have now are politicians. They won't offer real plans, and only stand up when they want to blame someone else.

I registered Democrat because my parents did. They were, we were. There was no thinking behind it.

Success is the American Dream. And that success is not something to be ashamed of, or to demonize.

Before I ran for District Attorney, two Republicans invited my husband and me to lunch. And I knew a party-switch was exactly what they wanted. So, I told Chuck, we'll be polite, enjoy a free lunch and then say goodbye. But we talked about issues - they never used the words Republican, or Democrat, conservative or liberal. We talked about many issues, like welfare - is it a way of life, or a hand-up? Talked about the size of government - how much should it tax families and small businesses? And when we left that lunch, we got in the car and I looked over at Chuck and said, "I'll be damned, we're Republicans."