CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger says she’s not just a “mouthpiece” for Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Munger said during a Wednesday news conference that some people have suggested she’s promoting a business-friendly agenda similar to Rauner’s because he tells her to. She says: “I say these things because I believe it.”

Rauner appointed Munger to fill Judy Baar Topinka’s term after her death last year. The Republican former businesswoman is seeking her first full term in 2016.

During a speech at a GOP gathering last month Munger called herself Rauner’s budgetary “wingman.” She also advocates for Rauner-backed proposals such as reducing the cost of workers’ compensation insurance.

She noted Wednesday she’s also disagreed with Rauner. She says his cuts to subsidized child care for low-income families, for example, are “too deep.”