He previously represented the 42nd district in the North Dakota Senate from 2009 until his reelection defeat in 2016.

He was the Democratic-NPL endorsed candidate for the 2018 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota.

[10] In the 2011 legislative session, he was elected to serve as Assistant Minority Leader of the North Dakota Senate, before serving as Minority Leader in the 2013 and 2015 legislative sessions.

[11] On March 6, 2018, Schneider announced his candidacy for that year's U.S. House of Representatives election for North Dakota's at-large congressional district.

[13] On September 15, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Schneider to be the United States attorney for the District of North Dakota.