Can a Republican Retake Virginia’s Governor’s Mansion?

GOP candidate Pete Snyder is hoping that failed leadership in Richmond will push Virginian voters rightward.

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MIDLOTHIAN, Virginia—It was a crowded evening at Steam Bell Beer Works last Wednesday. A surprising 100 or so people turned out, despite the rain. Attendees sipped beers and chatted among themselves as they geared up for the main event: GOP gubernatorial candidate Pete Snyder. 

“I think he’s probably one of the more electable candidates we’ve had in a long time for statewide office,” said Chuck Fadus, who hails from Midlothian, before Snyder spoke. “I will just say—I’m not going to mention my source, it’s very good—that there are a lot of Democrats right now, very disaffected with the way the party’s going. The radical shift to the left is blowing the other more moderate Democrats out of the water, and they want to help.”

With five weeks until the convention, Snyder has racked up endorsements from a slew of high profile GOP insiders: former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, and Trump’s entire immigration team. “He has always been a true staunch conservative, but not just his policy positions. He’s committed to the party itself,” Tony Pham, event attendee and former acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Trump administration, told The Dispatch. “I wasn’t really excited about this gubernatorial race until Pete announced.”

Snyder has spent the past 25 years dipping his toes in Republican Party politics. After graduating from William and Mary, he worked for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s 1997 New York City mayoral campaign and founded social media agency New Media Strategies two years later at age 26, which he sold in 2011 for $30 million. In 2012, he founded angel investment firm Disruptor Capital and had a brief stint as a Fox News contributor. 

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  1. CWB3

    I will try to navigate the byzantine process for becoming a “delegate” for the “privilege” of voting in the primary. Will look for the least Trumpy candidate up and down the ticket.

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    Rochejaquelein

    I'm sympathetic to pro-business complaints about the implementation of lockdowns, but this comes across as irresponsible and simplistic nonsense regarding COVID designed to appeal to the selfish and willfully blind and dogwhistle to the MAGA cultists. And bragging about supporting Trump twice without a hint of criticism gets a hard, hard, hard pass from me and, I suspect, legions of people like me who live in Virginia.

    Also this piece really failed to pin Snyder down on his position on Trump, Trumpism and the big election lie. Every Republican candidate should be asked hard questions by places like the Dispatch, because other people aren't asking them.

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      Rochejaquelein

      (to clarify, I'm not in Virginia)

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    Dave

    If they’re doing a convention vote instead of a primary, that really favors the crazies.

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    Mudskipper

    He is undoubtedly a smart man. But his campaign pitch at the brewery makes him sound like some old guy holding forth at a lunch counter in a greasy spoon somewhere.

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  5. Matthew M

    Nothing in this article suggests that the headline would be true. Sounds more like a rehash of most recent R candidates here in VA. Placating the base with many of the talking points described here will in no way win VA.

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    PC Albright

    I grew up and lived for decades in Fairfax Co. The Republican party lost its way I'd say in the early 80s, when it was taken over by the religious right. I voted Republican almost every time until the Rs started nominating what most suburban Rs would call "the crazies." Snyder sounds a bit better, but far too Trumpy to win in NoVa and hence win statewide. By the time the election rolls around the schools will be open; gun fetishism and "the 1776 Project" and anti-immigration simply won't play well with centrist Ds and Rs. If Mcauliffe is the D nominee Snyder will get crushed.

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    CVS

    His endorsements do not endure me to him.

    I don't vote in Virginia but I live a 10-15 minute drive from there so I care what happens. I'm leaning toward Sergio de la Pena. He worked in the Trump Pentagon but otherwise is mostly running on his military/Pentagon experience. I'll take that over the political hacks running, frankly. The fact that he's a Mexican-American is just an added bonus.

    Full disclosure: I am acquainted with, although not close to, Sergio's daughter.

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  8. Emma

    Please enlighten me on how you plan on teaching "real" American history? I'm sorry, but I've seen some of the textbooks in Virginia. "The war of northern aggression" is not "American history" it is coddling the southern mind.

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      CVS

      And when, may I ask you, was the last time you saw a textbook in Virginia that discussed the "War of northern aggression"?

      Because I'd be shocked if it were in the past 20 years. Hell, I'd be surprised if it was in the past 40.

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      1. Emma

        Suffolk and (I believe) Grayson County had a section in their reading assignments last year that discussed the "war of northern aggression" and the "heritage" of the confederate flag. In defense, it was more of a discussion guide to help students talk about removing monuments and the like, but it also still portrays the confederacy as a somewhat victim of the north.

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    BrettH

    Best of luck to all those GOP contenders in VA. That’s a steep hill to climb to persuade reasonable moderates to join a party that is, at a national level anyway, completely unhinged from reality. The GOP’s flavor of crazy kool-aid is stronger than what the democrats are slingin’ and I don’t enjoy that flavor either.

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    Jessica Hughes

    As a Virginian, who has moved to independent, no GOP gubernatorial candidate will get my vote without affirmatively denouncing the January 6th Insurrection and disavowing the Big Lie. Snyder's schtick so far is way, way, way too Trumpy for me (anyone proud of voting for him in 2020, no thank you), despite me agreeing on school closures. (I note that Gov. Northam signed SB 1303 into law last week; this was a bipartisan bill to mandate 5 day/week in person school for all VA public schools in the fall - the issue will be limiting the exceptions.) To date, the only GOP candidate I've heard from is Youngkin, who sends me lots of mailers and unsolicited texts.

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    1. William Lowery

      If it's of any help, I was at event last night in Fairfax where he condemned the violence and acknowledge the election results, before pivoting to discuss election security. He gave probably the best answer he could reasonably be expected to give on the topic.

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