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Home › Candidates › FL House — District 86 › John Snyder

REP Survey: Responded

John Snyder

FL House — District 86
North Jupiter / Palm Beach Gardens
Incumbent
★★★★☆
116 / 165 points
Integrity & Legal Record
Professional & Business Transparency
Policy & Platform Consistency
Community Engagement & Character
Campaign Transparency
Issue-Based Positions

Incumbent (born 4/13/1987, Hobe Sound, FL; U.S. Marine Corps, 2007–2012; BA, Indiana Wesleyan University; business owner in staffing/payroll services; father William Snyder previously served in the FL House (2006–2012) and is the current Martin County Sheriff; resides in Stuart, FL with spouse Brittany and two children; took office 11/3/2020; defeated Alberto Hernandez in the 2024 general election; district covers most of Martin County (Jensen Beach, Stuart, Hobe Sound, Port Salerno) and extends into Jupiter, Palm Beach County; running for re-election against Elizabeth Pandich)

Last updated: 2026-08-21

Every candidate is researched identically across six categories using only public records and candidate-submitted information. No candidate is endorsed. Read the full methodology.

Integrity & Legal Record 22 / 25

Criminal History

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "John Snyder" HD-86 Stuart arrested OR convicted OR indicted — 2026-08-14]`. No adverse findings.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-14 — no adverse matches

Civil Court History

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "John Snyder" HD-86 lawsuit OR litigation — 2026-08-14]`. No adverse civil litigation found against him personally (see Identity note above regarding his father's unrelated lawsuit).

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-14 — no adverse matches

Ethics Violations

(Revised 2026-08-14 — this finding emerged from research into a different candidate, Byron Donalds, and was cross-checked back to Snyder's own record; see Methodology Addenda.) Snyder is the founder of ESI Technical Inc., which does business under the fictitious name "Educator Solutions." Reporting on Erika Donalds' (wife of gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds) charter-school network — the Optima Foundation and its affiliated charter schools — states that between 2020–2022, those charter schools paid Educator Solutions $6,930,584, and the Optima Foundation itself paid the company an additional $2,783,216, both categorized as payments for "payroll services" (per the schools' IRS filings). Snyder's own financial disclosures show he personally earned nearly $700,000 from ESI Technical since 2020, and he has consistently identified the Optima-linked charter schools as ESI's single biggest customer. `[NOT FOUND — the precise mechanics of how the corporate-level "payroll services" payments to ESI Technical relate to Snyder's personal ~$700K disclosed income, and whether any of this constitutes a reportable conflict of interest under Florida legislative ethics rules given his votes on charter-school/education legislation — searched nationwide news, Florida Commission on Ethics — 2026-08-14]`.

Sources:
  • Florida Bulldog — "Firms owned by Rep. Donalds' wife net millions in school contracts" (6/2025) — 2026-08-14
  • Florida Bulldog — "Disclosures Deepen Mystery of Rep. Donalds's Wife's Charter School business" (9/2025) — 2026-08-14 — confirms ESI Technical/Educator Solutions is Snyder's company and cites his financial disclosures
  • Florida Commission on Ethics — https://ethics.state.fl.us/Complaints/Complaints.aspx — 2026-08-14 — no formal complaint found
🔴 PRIORITY — A sitting state representative's company has a near-$10 million, multi-year business relationship as the "biggest customer" arrangement with a specific charter-school network under sustained scrutiny for accounting irregularities (see Byron Donalds' research file for the network's broader controversies) — this is a significant potential conflict of interest for a legislator who votes on education/charter-school policy, and was entirely missed on the original research pass, which searched only for adverse news/lawsuits under his name and did not review his financial disclosures or business dealings. Recommend thorough operator review.

Campaign Finance Violations

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "John Snyder" HD-86 campaign finance violation — 2026-08-14]`. No violation records found.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-14 — no adverse matches

Residency Confirmed

Documented resident of Stuart, FL (Martin County, within HD-86).

Sources:
  • Wikipedia; repbio.org — 2026-08-14
  • IMPORTANT — this file was previously approved at 25/25 without the Educator Solutions/ESI Technical finding above. This revision was triggered by research into a different candidate (Byron Donalds) that surfaced a direct fact about Snyder's own business dealings. The prior approval should be treated as superseded pending fresh operator review (now 22/25 suggested).
  • 🔴 PRIORITY: Snyder's company ESI Technical Inc. (d/b/a "Educator Solutions") had a near-$10 million, multi-year business relationship with the Optima Foundation/charter-school network (also under scrutiny in Byron Donalds' research file); recommend operator review of whether this constitutes a disclosed or undisclosed conflict of interest under Florida legislative ethics rules.
  • Investigated and ruled out: FDLE sex-offender registry entries for unrelated same-surname individuals, and a civil-rights lawsuit against his father (Sheriff William Snyder), an unrelated party.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be independently completed this pass despite his "Responded" survey status — recommend cross-referencing his actual survey answers in a follow-up pass.

Professional & Business Transparency 15 / 25

Business Ownership

🔴 PRIORITY — formalizing and expanding on Category 1's finding. Snyder founded and serves as CEO of ESI Technical Inc., which does business as "Educator Solutions" (also marketed as "ESI Works," per ZoomInfo). Between 2020–2022, charter schools affiliated with the Optima Foundation (linked to Erika Donalds, wife of gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds) paid Educator Solutions $6,930,584 for "payroll services," and the Optima Foundation itself paid an additional $2,783,216 — a combined ~$9.7 million from a single charter-school network. Snyder's own financial disclosures show he personally earned nearly $700,000 from ESI Technical since 2020 (the year he took office), and he has consistently identified the Optima-linked schools as his company's single biggest customer. `[Sunbiz primary-source confirmation of ESI Technical Inc.'s registration, officers, and status NOT COMPLETED — search.sunbiz.org unresponsive this session]`.

Sources:
  • Florida Bulldog — "Firms owned by Rep. Donalds' wife net millions in school contracts" (6/2025) — 2026-08-14, re-confirmed 2026-08-21
  • Florida Bulldog — "Disclosures Deepen Mystery of Rep. Donalds's Wife's Charter School business" (9/2025) — 2026-08-14
  • ZoomInfo — "John Snyder... Chief Executive Officer at ESI Works" — 2026-08-21
🔴 PRIORITY — See Category 1 for full context; this is one of the most significant financial-conflict findings in this project to date given the dollar scale (~$9.7M) and direct nexus to charter-school/education policy Snyder votes on as a sitting legislator.

Financial Conflicts of Interest

This is the same underlying finding as Business Ownership above, viewed through the conflicts-of-interest lens explicitly: a sitting state representative's personal company derives its single largest revenue stream (~$9.7M over three years, ~$700K personally to Snyder) from a charter-school network that is itself the subject of separate, sustained scrutiny over accounting irregularities (documented in the Byron Donalds research file). Snyder sits on and votes in the Florida House, which sets charter-school policy and funding formulas directly affecting his company's largest customer's business model. No Florida Commission on Ethics complaint was found to have been filed over this arrangement as of this research date, and it is not established whether or how this relationship was formally disclosed beyond his general financial disclosure income figures.

Sources:
  • Same as Business Ownership above
  • Florida Commission on Ethics — https://ethics.state.fl.us/Complaints/Complaints.aspx — 2026-08-14/21 — no complaint found
🔴 PRIORITY — Direct, dollar-quantified overlap between his personal business's largest revenue source and the charter-school policy area he votes on; no formal complaint has been filed, but this is a significant, voter-relevant conflict-of-interest pattern.

Bankruptcy History

`[NOT FOUND]`. No personal or business bankruptcy filings located.

Sources:
  • CourtListener (courtlistener.com) — search "John Snyder" "Stuart" bankruptcy — 2026-08-21 — 0 results

Tax Liens

`[NOT FOUND]`. No federal or state tax lien records located; the two CourtListener hits were reviewed and found to be an unrelated 1878 West Virginia case with no connection to this candidate. Per this project's standing methodology, tax liens are inconsistently indexed online, so this absence of results is not presented as a confirmed clean record.

Sources:
  • CourtListener (courtlistener.com) — search "John Snyder" "Stuart" tax lien — 2026-08-21 — 2 results, both reviewed and ruled out

Board Memberships

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "John Snyder" HD-86 board member/director nonprofit, beyond his own ESI Technical/Educator Solutions role already documented above — 2026-08-21]`. No outside corporate or nonprofit board membership identified. Per this project's standing spouse-check methodology, his wife's name (Brittany Snyder) was noted in Category 1's biography, but a Sunbiz search under her name could not be completed due to the tooling block described above.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21 — no additional board matches
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — Spouse Sunbiz check not completed due to the tooling block; recommend manual follow-up.
  • 🔴 PRIORITY: ESI Technical/Educator Solutions ~$9.7M charter-school "biggest customer" relationship — this file's most significant finding, already flagged in Category 1 and formalized here under the Category 2 rubric. Recommend the operator prioritize this candidate for full financial-disclosure review.
  • ⚠️ TOOLING BLOCK: Sunbiz unresponsive this session for both his name and ESI Technical; recommend a manual recheck, including a spouse (Brittany Snyder) check.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be independently completed this pass despite his "Responded" survey status.

Policy & Platform Consistency 18 / 20

Voting Record

Snyder has represented HD-86 since 2020, currently serving as Deputy Majority Leader (2024–2026) and Chair of the Agriculture & Natural Resources Budget Subcommittee — real legislative leadership positions. Documented sponsored bills include HB 1477 (Use of Driver License Information), HB 1217 (Prohibited Governmental Policies), and HB 0371 (Patriotic Displays at Public School) — the latter is noted for context alongside his Category 1/2 charter-school-industry financial relationship, though it is a facially unrelated education-adjacent bill, not evidence of a direct connection.

Sources:
  • Ballotpedia — "John Snyder" — 2026-08-21
  • flhouse.gov — sponsored bills page — 2026-08-21
None beyond the existing PRIORITY cross-reference.

Position Consistency

Snyder's documented conservative legislative priorities have been consistent throughout his tenure, culminating in his elevation to Deputy Majority Leader. `[No documented reversal identified — searched: nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21]`.

Sources:
  • Ballotpedia — "John Snyder" — 2026-08-21

Flip-Flops

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "John Snyder" HD-86 flip-flop reversed changed position — 2026-08-21]`. No documented instance of Snyder reversing a stated position was identified.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21 — no matches

Endorsements

Given: Snyder endorsed Jon Maples (HD-87, also researched in this project) per Ballotpedia's "Endorsements by John Snyder" tracking page. `[A comprehensive endorsements-received list was NOT compiled — Ballotpedia notes it is still gathering this data — searched: nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21]`.

Sources:
  • Ballotpedia — "Endorsements by John Snyder" — 2026-08-21
  • This category does not re-litigate the Category 1/Category 2 PRIORITY ESI Technical/charter-school finding, which remains this candidate's dominant unresolved issue.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be independently completed this pass despite his "Responded" survey status.

Community Engagement & Character 19 / 25

Community Involvement

Snyder has a documented record of sustained, in-person civic and nonprofit leadership beyond his elected role: advisory council, Center for Constitutional Values; leadership advisory council, Place of Hope (a Palm Beach/Martin County child-welfare and foster-care nonprofit); and leadership team, Treasure Coast Classical Academy (a charter school — directly relevant context alongside the existing Category 1/2 ESI Technical/Optima charter-school PRIORITY finding, though not re-litigated here).

Sources:
  • Florida Voice for Veterans (FVF) — "John Snyder" profile — 2026-08-24
  • Vote Smart — biographical summary — 2026-08-24
⚠️ CROSS-REFERENCE — His Treasure Coast Classical Academy leadership role is adjacent to the existing Category 1/2 charter-school PRIORITY finding; noted for the operator's awareness, not re-scored here.

Veteran / First Responder Service

Confirmed U.S. Marine Corps veteran (already detailed in his profile summary): served 2007–2012. Independently corroborated via Florida Voice for Veterans, an organization specifically tracking veteran-status of Florida candidates/officials.

Sources:
  • Florida Voice for Veterans (FVF) — "John Snyder" — 2026-08-24

Faith-Based Involvement (scored on character consistency)

Documented Christian religious affiliation; a specific, sustained, in-person volunteer commitment via the Place of Hope leadership advisory council (child welfare/foster care), consistent with his stated values. `[His specific congregation was not independently confirmed — searched: nationwide Google/news search "John Snyder" HD-86 church — 2026-08-24]`. No contradictions between stated faith values and documented public conduct were identified this pass.

Sources:
  • Vote Smart — as above — 2026-08-24

Debates / Town Halls

`[No documented debate/town hall invitations or appearances for the 2026 general election against Pandich were found this pass — searched: nationwide Google/news search "John Snyder" HD-86 debate 2026 — 2026-08-24]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-24 — no matches
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — No debate coverage found; recommend a follow-up closer to November.

Social Media Presence & Consistency

Active official/campaign presence consistent with his role as a sitting Deputy Majority Leader (already noted in Category 3). `[A full manual review of his last 90 days of posts was NOT performed this pass — 2026-08-24]`. No inflammatory personal-tone content was surfaced in general search.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-24 — no adverse content found
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — Full manual 90-day audit not performed; recommend direct platform review if full certainty is required.
  • ⚠️ CROSS-REFERENCE: His Treasure Coast Classical Academy leadership role is adjacent to the existing Category 1/2 charter-school PRIORITY finding; noted for awareness, not re-scored.
  • ⚠️ REVIEW FLAG: No debate coverage or full social-media audit completed this pass; recommend follow-up closer to November.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass despite his "Responded" survey status.

Campaign Transparency 15 / 25

Top Donors / Donor Composition

Reporting shows $1,003,485 in total contributions against $1,105,303 in total expenditures (through 12/31/2024, per Transparency USA) — an unusually large figure for a Florida State House race, though the precise date range and whether this reflects a multi-cycle cumulative figure was not fully disambiguated this session. `[Precise donor-composition breakdown NOT FOUND — searched: Florida Division of Elections, Transparency USA — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Transparency USA — John Franklin Snyder candidate page — 2026-08-26
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — The reported total is unusually large for a State House seat; recommend the operator confirm via a direct Florida Division of Elections date-range check whether this reflects the current cycle alone or a multi-cycle aggregate.

PAC / LLC / Funneling Structures

`[NOT FOUND — specific PAC contributions NOT independently itemized this session — searched: Florida Division of Elections — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Advertising Spend

Total expenditures ($1,105,303) exceed total contributions reported for the same period, which is notable but not independently explained (e.g., carryover cash from a prior cycle). `[Not further itemized this session — searched: Florida Division of Elections expenditure reports — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Transparency USA — as above — 2026-08-26
None beyond the Donor Composition flag above.

Grassroots Engagement

`[No documented door-knocking, phone-banking, or in-person voter-contact ground game located — searched: nationwide Google/news search "John Snyder" HD-86 campaign volunteer 2026 — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Donations to Political Figures

`[NOT FOUND — searched: Florida Division of Elections, nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
  • ⚠️ REVIEW FLAG: The reported $1M+ total contribution/expenditure figures are unusually large for a State House race and their exact date range was not disambiguated this session; recommend a direct Florida Division of Elections follow-up.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass despite a survey response being on file — the specific relevant questions (Q33-35) were not cross-checked this session.

Issue-Based Positions 27 / 40

2A Rights Score

`[No formal NRA/GOA rating located this session despite a consistently conservative voting record — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: NRA, GOA, campaign website (electjohnsnyder.com) — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — recommend a direct NRA rating lookup.

Pro-Life / Pro-Family Score

States "Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death"; opposes taxpayer funding/grants to abortion providers including Planned Parenthood; supports the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

Sources:
  • flhouse.gov — District 86 representative newsletter — 2026-08-26

Fiscal Conservatism Score

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: AFP, Club for Growth, CATO, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Parental Rights Score

`[No distinct parental-rights-in-education legislative position located this session beyond his active charter-school leadership role (see Education/School Choice below and existing Cat1/2 PRIORITY finding) — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: Moms for Liberty, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
⚠️ CROSS-REFERENCE — see existing Cat1/2 PRIORITY charter-school finding.

Election Integrity Position

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: campaign website, nationwide news search — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Housing / Insurance Position

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: campaign website, nationwide news search — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Education / School Choice Position

Confirmed USMC veteran and active leader/founder role with Treasure Coast Classical Academy (a charter school), documented in this project's existing Cat1/2 PRIORITY finding — a practical, active engagement with school-choice infrastructure, distinct from the separately-documented conflict-of-interest concern.

Sources:
  • Existing Cat1/2 finding, cross-referenced — 2026-08-26
⚠️ CROSS-REFERENCE — see existing Cat1/2 PRIORITY ESI Technical/Optima/Treasure Coast Classical Academy finding.

Environment / Everglades Position

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: campaign website, nationwide news search — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
  • ⚠️ REVIEW FLAG: no formal NRA rating located this session; recommend a direct lookup given his otherwise consistently conservative record.
  • ⚠️ CROSS-REFERENCE: the Education/School Choice score reflects the same underlying charter-school leadership role documented in the existing Cat1/2 PRIORITY finding; readers should consult that finding for the associated conflict-of-interest concern.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.

Other candidates in this race — FL House — District 86

Elizabeth Pandich (DEM)View the full FL House — District 86 race page →

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