Pete Snyder lieutenant gubernatorial campaign, 2013

The Pete Snyder lieutenant gubernatorial campaign of 2013 began when Pete Snyder announced his candidacy for the Republican Party of Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial primary, 2013.

Campaign formation
Pete announced his candidacy for the election on January 9, 2013. He chose two co-chairs for his campaign, Virginia Senator Bryce Reeves and Delegate Israel O'Quinn. His campaign website listed the "Big Ideas" (detailed below) that he would be campaigning for, mostly focusing on energy, education, spending, transportation, and personal freedoms.

Primary campaign
On February 5, 2013, Snyder delivered a campaign speech before fellow Republicans at the Greenspring Retirement Community in Fairfax County, Virginia. He discussed his goals to limit government spending as well as how he believed the Republican Party of Virginia should move forward from the U.S. Presidential Election of 2012 when Obama won the state. He criticized the career politicians in the Virginia government for "[shoveling] more money at [the public school system]." Also, Snyder talked about his decision to enter politics when his wife pushed him into the lieutenant gubernatorial race after the 2012 elections.

Campaign goals
On his website, Snyder outlined what he believes to be the three "big ideas" of the country, which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, taken from Thomas Jefferson's words in the Declaration of Independence. He states that the Lieutenant Governor's job is more important than ever due to the split Virginia Congress, meaning the Lt. Gov gets the tie-breaking vote in the Senate whenever it is needed. Snyder claims that he has conservative ideas and that conservatism is the direction Virginia needs to head in. Under the heading of "life," Snyder identifies himself as pro-life and says that he will continue trying to change the hearts and minds of people across the state, country, and world on the issue of abortion. However, he does not say whether or not he will advocate for any laws regarding it. "Liberty," according to Snyder, is being attacked by liberals and bureaucrats, including the right to bear arms and religious freedom. He feels that federalism was what the nation's founders intended, and that the current government is taking away from states' rights. Pete also believes that economic freedom is under attack, and promises to keep government limited and restore respect for the free market.