The Republican representative for Phoenix's District 15 says her role as a teacher helped prepare her for politics.

“Nothing prepared me for the Legislature than being a middle-school teacher,” Heather Carter said in an article from the Great Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. “And I continue to draw on my  professional experience to help make me a strong legislator, for not  only the citizens of District 15, but also for the entire state of  Arizona.”

Part of her concern has been building up the education system, and she has said there is a crisis in the state.

"If we want to make sure that Arizona has high-quality education, the first step to that is to make sure is that you have an incredible teacher in front of the classroom and you have an incredible principal leading your schools, and you have an incredible superintendent leading the school system,” she said.

Although her focus had been on health care and education, she said she sees a difference between politics and policymaking.

“The skills, experiences and abilities that make me an effective politician, are not the same skills, abilities and experience that make me an effective policymaker,” she said. “To be truly effective, elected officials have to be able to navigate the politics world well while simultaneously navigating the policy world successfully.”