Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, Snyder attended Washington County Public Schools. He then graduated from the University of Maryland and attended the University of Maryland School of Law. Snyder was married to Karen Englehart Snyder and had six children and ten grandchildren.Maryland State Senate Archives He served in elected office as a Democrat, although he ran as a Republican in the 1982 Florida Senate Race for the seat occupied by Lawton Chiles. He served as the President of the National Taxpayers Union and led a nationwide effort to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution. Snyder passed away in 2017 at the Glenbridge Health and Rehabilitation Center in Boone, North Carolina.
