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Janet Contreras is making her first foray into politics, challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Ed Pastor for Arizona's 4th District U.S. House seat.

She says she never intended to become involved in politics but became frustrated after watching laws being passed that she disagreed with. She began writing letters to Pastor and other lawmakers, eventually writing more than 500 without a response. That's when she sent a letter to radio host Glenn Beck, who read it on the air.

"It went viral," she said. People started talking to her about running for office, and about how no one had ever given Pastor a serious challenge in his nearly 20 years in Congress.

"Bottom line, it's never something I aspired to do _ it just happened," she said of her candidacy.

She sought and won the endorsement of various groups, including tea party organizations. "It's not strictly a tea party thing _ it's people in general who are not satisfied with government," she said of her supporters.

Contreras wants to secure the U.S.-Mexico border by adding double-layer fencing. She wants to extend President George W. Bush's tax cuts, and she opposes both cap-and-trade and card-check legislation, the 2010 health care reform bill, and other Democratic initiatives.

Contreras wants to cut federal regulations that impact business and slash government agencies. She calls for defunding the federal agencies responsible for implementing health care reform until the law can be repealed.

Contreras says she understands she is facing an uphill battle, but points to higher than normal Republican turnout in the August 2010 primary as a sign that her cause has hope.