I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants who reminded my brothers, my sister and me every single day how blessed we were to live in this country. They loved the fact that only in America, we could be as successful as we wanted to be, and nothing would stand in our way.
The reason I actually ran for office is because of Hillary Clinton. Everybody was telling me why I shouldn't run: I was too young, I had small children, I should start at the school board level.
The people of South Carolina support conservatives who are trying to push real change, and the people of South Carolina expect their presidential candidates to back them up when they show courage.
South Carolinians are strong, independently-minded people. At the end of the day, they make their own decisions. And I respect them for that. And I welcome that. And I told him that from the very beginning.
I was raised by the Indian community, and those families are still very close to us. We used to go to each others' houses one Sunday a month, so we got to know everyone well. Also, we love Indian food and can't get enough of it.
I think it's very important to get ego out of the room. I think it's important to realize it takes two hands to clap - stop the pointing, stop the blame game. I think we've seen enough of that, I think the country is tired of it. I think they want to see Washington function, they want to see action.
I have no doubt that if we act with proper focus, we can protect our borders, our sovereignty, and our citizens, all while remaining true to America's noblest legacies.
I have had the pleasure of knowing Mitt Romney for several years now. There's so much to appreciate about him. He fixes things. He's results-driven. He's taken broken companies and made them successful.
I fight for the things that I care about, which are jobs and the economy. I fight for the things I think are important, which are reducing the debt and getting more companies to come to South Carolina.
I did read Indian scriptures when we could get the English versions, but the problem was I never took the time to learn the language. Really, what it comes down to is that I knew the emotion of faith; I knew what my parents were trying to teach me, but we always said 'No' when my mom was trying to teach us Punjabi.
I've always felt like there are certain politicians that wear their religion on their sleeve in a way that you almost feel is disingenuous. I think that your faith has to be first personal. I struggle with those people that preach something and go back behind closed doors and live differently.
Growing up in the rural south, my family didn't look like our neighbors, and we didn't have much. There were times that were tough, but we had each other, and we had the opportunity to do anything, to be anything, as long as we were willing to work for it.
Everything that has happened to me in my life has defined who I am, and all of the things leading up to being governor, that all came from overcoming challenges in childhood and overcoming challenges as I got older. When you have God, you quickly understand there's nothing you can't overcome.
Boeing started a new line for their 787 Dreamliner, creating 1,000 new jobs in South Carolina, giving our state a shot in the arm when we truly needed it.
