Success, they taught me, is built on the foundation of courage, hard-work and individual responsibility. Despite what some would have us believe, success is not built on resentment and fears.

I've always known that my father's father and grandfather and grandmother were from Mexico. I've never denied it. I've always said it.

New Mexico is an environment where we are open for business.

My parents taught me to never give up and to always believe that my future could be whatever I dreamt it to be.

I went to law school. And I became a prosecutor. I took on a specialty that very few choose to pursue. I prosecuted child abuse and child homicide cases. Cases that were truly gut-wrenching. But standing up for those kids, being their voice for justice was the honor of a lifetime.

When I first registered to vote I registered as a Democrat.

We talked about many issues, like welfare, is it the way of life or hand up? Talked about 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."