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Snyder Adds Name to List Vying for Helms' Seat

The N.C. native describes himself as a conservative who is pro-life and believes in the preservation of the Second Amendment's protection of bearing arms.

Snyder said he subscribes to the Helms-Reagan paradigm, explaining that he would model himself after Helms, who dictates his actions in Congress based on personal philosophy, not party politics.

"I know where I stand on every issue," he said. "There is no use in me doing this if I don't have a plan."

Snyder also said he supports some liberal issues such as environmental conservation and protection.

"I don't think it's oxymoronic to say `forward-moving conservative,'" he said.

Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC's Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life, said the successor to Helms' Senate seat will have to gain party support during the N.C. Republican primary in May.

Guillory said Republicans who vote in the primary election are typically more conservative than the electorate as a whole. "It appears to me that Mr. Snyder is trying to position himself as the candidate who would carry on the arch-conservative nature of Jesse Helms," Guillory said. "Yes, that is politically viable, but whether that succeeds or not remains to be seen."

Guillory added that hot emotional issues that were present when Helms ran, like racial inequality and the Cold War, might not be as important or relevant in this campaign.

But Snyder said he is confident that he can win his party's and the people's support.

"No one can replace Helms," he said. "But I believe those who elected Helms want someone who believes in all the bedrock goals that he stood for."

Snyder expects to use some of his own money to fund his campaign because he doesn't expect to receive as many contributions as better-known candidates.

"Most private individuals have to provide some of the startup money unless they have the name recognition of Liddy Dole," he said.

Bill Cobey, chairman of the N.C. Republican party, said the fact that Snyder doesn't have to raise money might help him make up ground in a Senate race involving well-known Republican opponents like former N.C. gubernatorial candidate Richard Vinroot and former Red Cross President Elizabeth Dole.

"The fact that you don't have to raise money is always an advantage," he said.

Cobey said Snyder's comparative lack of name recognition doesn't put him out of contention altogether.

"He's a nice man and presents himself very well, and I think he has a future," Cobey said.

Snyder, a 56-year-old Wake Forest College graduate and N.C. native, is a partner and the sole practitioner of Leonard and Snyder, a firm co-founded by his father in 1972.

Snyder was elected to his father's seat in the N.C. House of Representatives after the former's death in 1971. He presently works on medical malpractice cases.

The State and National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.

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