Dear Friends,

With all of the drama coming out of Washington – I’m sure your email inboxes are flooded by now with Hyperventilating missives looking to raise money off of division and turmoil.

Do not fear – I swear this one is drama free. In fact, it’s the exact opposite of drama and division. I want to talk about unity.

So many of you supported me in my run for office earlier this year, and for that I will always be grateful. But I’m even more thankful and proud of the class and support that you all showed in immediately lining up with me behind our nominee for Lt. Governor, E.W. Jackson. I’m told that the fundraising email we sent asking for your support for E.W. broke all prior records for his campaign!

Now, we are coming to the home stretch of this campaign, and we are all needed in order to pull this one out. Poll after poll shows the LG race tight as a tick – not one survey has the race outside of the margin of error. So our help can make the difference! Now, y’all are a smart bunch, so I don’t expect you to do something just because I say so. Let me tell you exactly why I’m supporting E.W.

He is a good and honorable man.

You learn a lot about someone when you face the good and the bad side by side with them. E.W. and I ran the gauntlet to the nomination – along side of five others – and for almost a year we spent more time together than we probably did with our families. He was certainly an adversary of mine, but I aways viewed him as more of a friend. He was always quick with a warm, genuine greeting when I’d see him on the trail, he was great company as we sat side by side (for hours sometimes!!) waiting for our turn at the dais. And as we got to know each other better and better, he proved to be both honest and trustworthy.

But, Pete – you LOST! There must be some hard feelings, no?

PLEASE… He beat me fair and square – and I admire the grit, smarts and determination E.W. and his entire team displayed in fueling his scrappy start-up campaign to victory. Roles reversed, I know I’d be able to count on E.W. to have my back in a time of need. It’s as simple as that.

Bottom line, E.W. has a good heart and I’ve only known him to be a decent, kind and honorable man.

Ok, that’s fine and well, Pete, but this election is about big things – I’m not gonna support someone just because you say they’re good people…

Glad you asked. Most importantly, I’m supporting E.W. because:

He is right on the issues that matter most in this race.

I’ve always believed the two most important issues for Virginia in this race (and for the foreseeable future) are Education Reform and removing the red tape and restrictions of big government to keep our Economy moving forward.

E.W. is a true innovator when it comes to embracing Education Reform and trusting our parents, not government, to make the best education choices for their children. I have no doubt E.W. will fight to improve our entire education system so that Virginia schools lead the nation in excellence.

On the Economy, E.W. stands alone in the race for Lt. Governor as the only candidate who will fight against the expansion of larger government and for reducing the tax burden on entrepreneurs and job creators to make Virginia a haven for new job growth.

While there are plenty of other issues in this race that stir passions, Education and the Economy will be front and center as voters hit the polls November 5th, and will remain two of the definitive challenges for our Commonwealth for years to come. That’s why this race matters so much.

We are in the final weeks of this campaign and we must unite behind and fight for our entire ticket, and E.W. needs your help.

Today, E.W. faces a big fundraising deadline and needs your help.

He needs 500 new donors by midnight tonight. Can you donate here to help E.W. reach his goals, or register here for E.W.’s dinner on October 4, hosted by myself and Gwen Cody in Fairfax? It would be a tremendous help in electing a conservative Lt. Governor who will fight for good jobs and for education.

United, we can make the difference!

Pete Snyder