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 we set up our kids for failure, we set up our workforce for failure, and we set up our economy for failure. I can't emphasize enough the importance, the absolute importance, of education in achieving long-term economic growth.
Success is the American Dream. And that success is not something to be ashamed of, or to demonize.
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.
New Mexico should be a tech jobs leader and a haven for innovation, a place where the best and the brightest come to bring their products to market.
My father was a security guard. I was a security guard.
I didn't suddenly become conservative. It was only the label that changed.
The big corporations have a team of lawyers and accountants to help them. It's the small businesses, the mom and pop shops, that get lost in the layers of red tape.
Republicans want to be tough and say, 'Illegals, you're gone.' But the answer is a lot more complex than that.
It's extremely important that we elect people that look like the population they serve.
I have to deliver the results I promised because, as the first Hispanic female governor, I'm going to pave a path of some kind. I want it to be one that little Hispanic girls will want to follow.
I registered Democrat because my parents did. They were, we were. There was no thinking behind it.
Republicans need to stop making assumptions, and they need to start talking to younger people, people of color, and ask them - not talk to them - ask them, 'What is it that we can do better? How do we earn your vote? How do we earn the ability for you to see that we can be the party that will make your life better and that of your children?'
My dad was a golden gloves boxer in the Marine Corps, then a deputy sheriff. My mom worked as an office assistant.
When there is a crisis, how you handle the crisis is just as important as the crisis.
My parents grew that small business from one 18-year-old guarding a bingo to more than 125 employees in three states. And sure, there was help along the way. But my parents took the risk. They stood up. And you better believe they built it.
When I first registered to vote I registered as a Democrat.
Despite what some would have us believe, success is not built on resentment and fear.
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.
