Virginia’s GOP gubernatorial primary is wrapping up this week, ahead of Saturday’s nomination convention. Political outsider and businessman Pete Snyder, one of the frontrunners in the Republican primary contest, has earned endorsements from a variety of conservative leaders on the state and national level.
In the final days of the primary, Snyder also received support from a “conservative icon,” who worked in President Ronald Reagan’s administration. Former Secretary of Education Bill Bennett took note of Snyder’s work to advocate for liberating schools from COVID closures and against detrimental Critical Race Theory in education.
“Pete has helped to expose the racist 1619 Project and extremist Critical Race Theory in Virginia’s public school system and I have great confidence that all of these will be eliminated during a Governor Snyder administration,” Bennett wrote in an endorsement.
I’m honored to have the endorsement of long-time leader + icon in our conservative movement, @WilliamJBennett.
— Pete Snyder (@petesnyder) May 4, 2021
He is helping fight this awful Critical Race Theory, and he knows the importance of reforming our education system + applying conservative principles to get VA leading! pic.twitter.com/p7cuKbKbTP
A GOP nominee will be chosen on Saturday. Other contenders in the primary include political outsider Glenn Youngkin, state delegate Kirk Cox, and State Senator Amanda Chase. On the Democrat side, former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) is likely to be the party's nominee to face the eventual Republican pick.