The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

August 20, 2009

Senator’s son named to national Democratic post

By Mannix Porterfield

Like father, like son?

In height, at least, since Rod Snyder perfectly matches the 6-foot-6 frame of his father, Sen. Herb Snyder, D-Jefferson. In a room together, there is no way a stranger couldn’t detect a relationship.

Politically? Only time will tell.

Until he actually nails down an office, the younger Snyder certainly is packing in some experience, recently nailing down the office of executive vice president of the Young Democrats of America — one he landed after an intense campaign that took him into half of the 50 states.

“I’m very excited about it,” the 29-year-old Eastern Panhandle resident said. “It’s going to be a great opportunity over the next couple of years.”

Snyder has been active with his father’s career and ran unsuccessfully himself four years ago for the House of Delegates, losing to veteran John Doyle in the Democratic primary in the 57th District.

“He and I are friends now,” Snyder observed. “We put that behind us.”

Snyder picked up some extra experience last year, successfully managing three campaigns in his region, including the election of Delegate Tiffany Lawrence, youngest woman ever elected to the Legislature in West Virginia.

For now, he works as a lobbyist for the National Corn Growers Association, a job that calls for a daily train commute to the nation’s capital to help shape agriculture legislation.

“My niche is farm policy,” he said, describing the work he has done the past seven years.

Whether he eventually intends to seek state or national office is a question mark that he cannot answer for the moment.

“I won’t say I bit off more than I could chew,” he said of the arduous campaign for the Young Democrats office.

“But it was a lot more work than I imagined when I announced at the beginning of the year back in January that I was going to do this. I really had no idea what was involved in this. I ended up traveling to 25 states in seven months. It was just grueling. I got an appreciation for what national candidates have to go through in order to really touch many different parts of the country.”

Understandably, the experience is invaluable, putting him in touch with people from half the nation and exchanging a plethora of ideas from diverse backgrounds.

“I felt a little bit like an ambassador from West Virginia, especially now that I’m holding a national position like that in the party,” he said.

“I’m only the second person from West Virginia to hold this executive vice presidency within the Young Democrats of America.”

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com

Text Only
Local News