| John J. Snow Jr. | |
| State Senate: | North Carolina |
| State: | North Carolina |
| District: | 50th |
| Term Start: | January 1, 2005 |
| Term End: | January 1, 2011 |
| Preceded: | Bob Carpenter |
| Succeeded: | Jim Davis |
| Party: | Democrat |
| Birth Date: | 24 October 1945 |
| Birth Place: | Murphy, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Wake Forest University (BA, JD) |
John Joyner Snow Jr. (born October 24, 1945) is an American politician, attorney, and former football player who served as a member of the North Carolina Senate, for the 50th district from 2005 to 2011.[1] His district included Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain and Transylvania counties. Snow was the co-chair of the Subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety.
Snow was born in Asheville, North Carolina. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wake Forest University and Juris Doctor from the Wake Forest University School of Law. Snow was a defensive tackle for Wake Forest University, and was drafted in the 15th round of the 1967 NFL/AFL draft by the New Orleans Saints.[2]
In 1967, Snow served in the United States Army. After law school Snow worked as an Assistant District Attorney. He later served as a District Court Judge from 1976 to 1986 and Chief District Court Judge from 1996 to 2004. He took office as a member of the North Carolina Senate in 2005.[3] [4]
Franklin orthodontist Jim Davis defeated Snow in 2010 by a margin of less than 200 votes after Snow was subjected to two dozen mass-mailed negative ads during the election.[5] After the election, it was revealed that many of the mail-outs were funded by groups founded by businessman Art Pope, including Civitas Action and Real Jobs NC. In 2012, Snow ran in a re-match with Davis to return to his former seat in the Senate.[6] He was defeated by a substantial margin of 12,548 votes.[7]