Virginia 30 Day Fund founder Pete Snyder announced Tuesday that he is running for governor. Snyder is experienced as a social media entrepreneur, investor, and political operative. He’s positioning himself as the answer to problems caused in 2020 by Governor Ralph Northam and the Democrat-led General Assembly.
“We have faced the biggest crisis that we’ve seen in over 100 years, and our leadership in Richmond has absolutely failed us,” Snyder told The Virginia Star.
Failing businesses, closed schools, criminal justice reforms, and a loss of First and Second Amendment rights are the issues the entrepreneur said are fueling his campaign in 2021.
“I believe that we have to focus on the basics. This is a turnaround job and I’m a turnaround artist. We’re going to make sure that one, we reopen our schools, two, we save small businesses, and three, we actually, instead of coddling criminals and worrying about spending all this time restoring the rights of criminals, let’s restore the rights of law-abiding citizens,” Snyder said.
Snyder is the fifth major candidate to enter the race for the GOP nomination, joining Senator Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield), former House Speaker and Delegate Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights), former Trump administration official Sergio de la Peña, and former Carlyle Group CEO and founder of the Virginia Ready Initiative Glenn Youngkin.
Snyder said, “I’m not a career politician. I haven’t served in electoral office. But you know what? I’m a problem solver, and a job creator, and a conservatives’ conservative. Look, people in the grassroots in Virginia know me, they fought alongside me, they have the same values, and we fight for the same things. And that’s why as an outsider, I’m going to disrupt the entire field, and that’s how we win.”
Snyder may not have held elected office in Virginia, but he’s no stranger to the workings of the Republican Party of Virginia. He has experience as Virginia co-chair of Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, was a 2013 candidate for the Lieutenant Governor nomination, and served as finance chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV). Snyder’s experience in the 2013 RPV convention means he already knows convention strategy and should have grassroots contacts to help build the necessary delegate base to power him to a convention win.
Snyder is the founder of Disruptor Capital, focused on funding other entrepreneurs. Founded in 2020, his Virginia 30 Day Fund has provided forgivable loans to hundreds of small businesses across Virginia struggling due to COVID-19, and has spread to other states. Snyder said he waited until now to enter the race so he could focus on helping businesses through his nonprofit.
“We had a global pandemic going on, in a crisis, and the career politicians were running around, only focusing on themselves, and trying to raise money for themselves, and their own political ambitions. I didn’t. I focused on helping out fellow Virginians, and saving small businesses. Those were my priorities,” Snyder said.
The Virginia Star Publisher John Fredericks said, “Pete Snyder’s entrance into the race is both significant and exciting for Republicans. What he did with the Virginia 30 Day Fund was nothing short of amazing. I think Pete will raise the level of debate in the nominating contest – which is wide open.”
Fredericks added, “He is really the authentic Trump-movement candidate in the race. As chairman of the Trump campaign of 2016 and 2020, there was never a single thing that I asked Pete Snyder to do for us that he didn’t do, plus one.
“Regardless of who the party selects as the nominee it is absolutely essential that the incessant infighting comes to a halt and all Republicans come together in order to make this a very competitive race and also hopefully win the House of Delegates back,” Fredericks concluded.
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Pete Snyder” by Pete Snyder.
