Karen Handel

“I'm proud of the fact that I was able to overcome long odds.”

“People want to know that I'm a person of conviction.”

“I've made it abundantly clear that I think that marriage is between a man and a woman.”

“I worked my way up in the private sector and implemented Georgia's tough voter ID law.”

“Planned Parenthood is not the front door of women's health. Not here in the 6th District, not in the state of Georgia, and not around the country.”

“I'm not going to be lectured by Nathan Deal, who is a former Clinton Democrat. I will stack up my conservative credentials against his any day of the week.”

“Some people call me scrappy - and that's because I am.”

“It's clear that Planned Parenthood went out of its way to paint me as some sort of a zealot - a Trojan-horse zealot who came into Komen and within 10 to 11 months had completely turned the place upside down. That's clearly not who I am, and it's not what happened.”

“I've had to be tough my whole life.”

“Last time I checked, private nonprofit organizations have a right and a responsibility to be able to set the highest standards and criteria on their own without interference, let alone the level of vicious attacks and coercion that has occurred by Planned Parenthood.”

“I think it's clear that Planned Parenthood has worked to mislead the public about who they are... they do not provide mammograms. They are the middleman, or middle woman, if you will.”

“I left home when I was just 17, finished up high school, and went to work.”

“I have much greater faith in the governor and the state legislature to craft a Medicaid system that is going to be the best fit for the people of Georgia rather than someone in Washington dictating it.”

“Clearly, there have been changes in the climate.”

“For Komen, for myself, the mission was always foremost in everyone's mind. The mission and the women that we serve. The only group that made this issue political has been Planned Parenthood.”

“I want women to have more access to quality care, and the access to healthcare for women is not through Planned Parenthood; it is through community health centers across the state.”

“My responsibility is to follow the law.”

“A small part of my job at Komen included advocating that mammogram screenings be covered under plans available on the exchanges - just as they are covered in other plans in Georgia.”

“I don't think it is just in the world of politics. The lack of civility in society as a whole, some of it, I believe, is very much fueled by social media and frankly, it's fueled by the fact that journalism is not journalism any more.”

“Sometimes you should just put down the computer, the phone, and walk away.”