Meet The Candidate: Pete Snyder Seeks Nomination For Governor

VIRGINIA — Pete Snyder, a small business owner and entrepreneur, is one of seven candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor of Virginia in 2021.

On Saturday, 53,000 delegates will cast ballots for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general at the Republican nominating convention. The contest is ranked choice, requiring candidates to get a majority of votes to win.

Snyder will face businessman Glenn Youngkin, state Sen. Amanda Chase, Del. Kirk Cox, former think thank leader Peter Doran, retired Army Col. Sergio de la Peña and former Roanoke Sheriff Octavia L. Johnson. Visit this site to find a polling location near you for Saturday's nomination convention.

Snyder started his first company from his apartment when he was 26 years old. That company, New Media Strategies, became one of the largest social media marketing companies. The company was named by Inc. Magazine as one of the “500 Fastest Growing Companies in America” for three years in a row.

A graduate of The College of William and Mary, Snyder also founded Disruptor Capital, an angel capital investment firm focused on funding and growing disruptive technologies, ideas and entrepreneurs.

Learn more about Pete Snyder and why he is running for governor of Virginia in 2021:

Age (as of Election Day)

48

Position Sought

Governor

Party Affiliation

Republican

Family

My wife Burson, my six-year-old daughter Bee, and our puppies Willie and Waylon live in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Education

College of William and Mary (BA)

Occupation

Small businessman

Campaign website

https://petesnyder.com/

Why are you seeking elective office?

Virginia faced the worst crisis in over 100 years, and government fell down on the job.

The career politicians in Richmond have done more to rename our schools than open them. I’m running for governor because people need and want common sense leadership. I’m an outsider and a businessman that can get the job done.

The single most pressing issue facing our state is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

My main priority of opening our schools has stayed consistent throughout the race.

Our campaign led the effort to re-open schools, still is, and is now leading the effort to block Democrats from pushing their insane, divisive curriculums on Virginia’s students. The parents of Virginia feel that they are losing their voice in how their children are educated and the radical left is using schools to indoctrinate rather than educate.

Our campaign started this race knowing that opening schools is vital in the recovery process post pandemic, but now since Democrats have used this time to overhaul the education system, we are finishing out this race pushing to fully open our schools and also save the school systems from radical reform.

How would you assess Virginia’s handling of the coronavirus, and why?

Northam has failed Virginians throughout the COVID crisis, and Virginia finds itself trailing other states in vaccine distribution, re-opening, and getting our Commonwealth leading again.
Virginia should lead the Nation in vaccine distribution and test availability, not be at the bottom of the pack.

What laws or policies will you pursue to help the state recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?

During the onset of this horrible COVID-19 pandemic, My wife Burson and I launched the Virginia 30 Day Fund, a non-profit whose sole mission is to save as many small businesses and Virginia jobs as possible by providing fully-forgivable loans for small businesses in need. The forgivable loans provide immediate financial assistance to meet payroll, preserve healthcare coverage for employees, and save jobs during the pandemic. What started as an idea to help struggling businesses soon turned into a movement that caught fire across the nation. To date, the Virginia 30 Day Fund and 30 Day Fund related entities, including the recently launched Barstool Fund in partnership with Barstool Sports have raised more than $46 million dollars and ignited small business saving efforts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arkansas and Mississippi, saving more than 2600 small businesses.

I plan to bring other similar common sense solutions to the table as your next governor to help us finally get Virginia leading again.

How would you assess the General Assembly's work in the latest session, which saw passage of a host of bills on racial equity and criminal justice reform?

The leadership of the General Assembly absolutely fell down on the job. They focused on banning styrofoam and plastic bags while our schools continued to stay closed and small business owners lost everything.

This summer Richmond was ravaged by mobs, destroying small businesses. What did the governor do? He called a special session, not to figure out how do we get schools open, not preparing for a vaccine to make sure we can distribute it, but to focus on restoring the rights of criminals.

What is your position on the effort to repeal the state's right-to-work statute, and what changes, if any, would you make in the law?

We need to give Virginians the freedom to join and leave organizations that share their values. Teachers unions have kept students in the northeast out of classrooms, depriving students of a year of growth and friendship. We need to get our students into school. We need to keep teachers in right-to-work positions.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I will prioritize rebuilding our economy, opening our schools, supporting our brave men and women in law enforcement, and defending the rights and values that have made America exceptional. Career politicians in Richmond have failed us too long, it’s time to try a disruptor.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My campaign’s top issues of opening up our schools and rebuilding small businesses is what really set us apart. Our commitment to these issues has also brought Democrats and Independents that are frustrated with closed schools and the status quo into our camp.

Burson and I saw that the dysfunction in Richmond and the mishandling of COVID-19 by Northam and the federal government were crippling Virginia’s small business so we launched the Virginia 30 Day Fund. While career politicians sat on the sidelines during a crisis, we got to work helping small businesses, and saving jobs.

Our campaign has the backing of a number of grassroot conservatives and Trump allies, including Ken Cuccinelli, Oliver North, Trump's Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and most of Trump's immigration team.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I have worn many hats throughout my career from small business owner to angel investor. I know what it takes to save small businesses and get our economy moving.

As a serial entrepreneur, I know firsthand how damaging Ralph Northam’s shutdown policies have been on small businesses across Virginia. Career politicians in Richmond picked winners and losers – essential and non-essential businesses – which destroyed lives, and the dreams of families and entrepreneurs across the Commonwealth.

In response, my wife and I launched the Virginia 30 Day Fund, a non-profit whose sole mission is to save as many small businesses and Virginia jobs as possible by providing fully-forgivable loans for small businesses in need.

My experience in the private sector has taught me to think outside of the box to solve problems, as shown by my work with the 30 Day Fund and I think it is about time to have a leader in Richmond with common-sense solutions.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

In elementary school, a teacher wrote that I was a disruptor on my report card and it just stuck. I have always been the kind of person to challenge the status quo and never accept “no” for an answer.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

The final thing I’ll add is that I’m the one candidate in this race with a plan to bring security and transparency to our commonwealth’s elections. Virginians must have confidence that our elections are safe and secure, and their votes count. We can restore this confidence with common sense solutions that Republicans, Democrats, and Independents feel will provide the necessary security for our election process.