Quote

I had the chance to be governor for eight years and I took a year to transition out and a year to transition in, so that's a decade of my life where I pursued my own ambitions and I thought it was time to rearrange my life to focus on other things.

I try to associate myself as just being myself - and being a person, an American citizen, going out there every day and just trying to be successful.

I was interested in politics very much when I was growing up, and that's what I think I really wanted to be - either a senator, or a Supreme Court Justice, and I always wanted to be a lawyer.

I wanted to be a senator from Illinois. I was obsessed with politics. My dad was friends with a lot of local politicians, so I would hang out with them on Election Day and hand out buttons. Somehow, even though they were opposite, I loved Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. I thought they were the coolest guys!

To be perfectly honest, it isn't fair that people have used my personality, and the sacrifices I make because I want to, as an indication that I want to be in a political office.

My motivation for running for Senate was not for the stature of being a senator, but because I wanted to make a difference on issues I feel passionate about.

I became a Republican because I trust people more than I trust government.

I have an ability to work collegially across a wide range of interests in the caucus and in the Congress, and an ability to work on a bipartisan basis. Appropriators pride themselves on that.

I'm a politician. I run for office. That's my profession.