James Snider III has announced that he will challenge incumbent Jason Smith for the Republican Party’s nomination for the 8th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in the August primary election.
The district covers the eastern half of Jefferson County and southeast Missouri, including the Bootheel and extending west to near Branson.
Snider, 27, said his interest in politics was sparked when he was a sixth grader in the Hillsboro R-3 School District.
“We had a project in class where we set up a little city and elected a mayor and councilmen and all that,” said Snider, who now lives in the St. Mary area of Ste. Genevieve County. “I was elected mayor. I think it was because I was a leader and was really good at speaking and writing. I felt I could connect with people at that age. Those lessons really stuck with me. And I credit Mr. (Jacob) Munoz with all that. He was my inspiration. And going back to first grade, Jennifer Laiben was an awesome teacher, too. They both had a lot of influence on me growing up.”
Munoz is now the principal of Festus Middle School, and Laiben is now Hillsboro R-3’s JAG specialist.
Snider, a 2015 Hillsboro High School graduate, said he’s unfazed by the challenge to turn out Smith, the chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
“For the 10 years that Jason Smith has been in office, and I can say this as a conservative myself, I don’t think he’s done a good job representing District 8 and upholding true conservative values,” Snider said.
While conceding that Smith has a sizable war chest and large donors, Snider said he believes he has a shot.
“I personally don’t believe money equates to votes,” he said. “Money won’t decide the nomination; the voters of District 8 will truly decide. I feel that many of them, like me, have grown disenchanted with the leadership that Jason Smith has given us. I don’t think he’s proven that he has the ability to represent the true conservative GOP side. With all the problems we have in this country, he’s done nothing to stop the breakdown we’re seeing. He lives in Washington, D.C., and drinks with his buddies.”
Snider said if he is elected, he would work to “form a coalition” with other conservative members to pass legislation.
“One of the things I’d like to work on is that anything that is passed is clear and easy to read,” he said. “You shouldn’t need a PhD to understand our laws. No matter what we may disagree on, I think everyone would agree for the need to have legislation that everybody can understand.”
Snider, who is self-employed in the floor installation industry, also works nights as a driver for Door Dash and Uber.
He said one incident in October in University City convinced him of the need to fight for Second Amendment rights.
“I was there to drop off something, and someone approached me and put a pistol in my face and told me to get out of my vehicle,” he said.
Snider said as he was leaving his vehicle, he reached for his AR-15 style long rifle, and shots were exchanged.
He said the gunman took off with his car and crashed it nearby. Snider, who said he was unhurt in the altercation, said police have yet to make an arrest in the case.
“I was cleared because I acted in self-defense,” Snider said. “I’m very happy for my family’s sake that I am still alive. But it points out the need for people to be able to defend themselves.
“Being a father of four, I think I can position myself as the pro-family candidate and a pro-life candidate, and I’m the top pro-gun rights candidate. But more than pro-gun rights, I’m the pro-Bill of Rights candidate. I believe our entire Bill of Rights is under attack at the moment.
“While I think Missouri is pretty good on pro-gun rights, we need to look at those protections on a national level, too.”
Snider said his oldest son, David “Davey” Snider IV, is 6 and has special needs, so he also would work to advocate for that population. “I’ve learned a lot about that, from education and health care, and we can do better for them,” he said.
Snider and Emma, his partner of 10 years and wife of two years, have four children. In addition to Davey, they have two sons, Castiel, 4, and Silas, 2, and a daughter, Rosebell, 11 months.
Candidate filing for the August primary election runs from Feb. 27 through March 26.
U.S. representatives are paid $174,000 a year.