A self-funded, conservative truck driver with no prior political experience is poised to defeat incumbent Democratic New Jersey state Senate President Stephen Sweeney following a national backlash against Democrats during Tuesdayās off-year elections.
Sweeney, who represents Gloucester, is described by NJ.com as āthe second-most-powerful elected state officialā after Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. He is also the longest-serving state Senate president in Garden State history.
Following an evening of victories from Virginia to Texas for underdog Republicans, it appears Republican Edward Durr will defeat Sweeney.
As of Wednesday morning, Durr led the political veteran by roughly 2,000 votes in a race that had yet to be officially called.
Without a big budget, flashy graphics or any kind of an apparatus around him, Durr ran the race with a simple message: He wanted to lower taxes.
āHello NJ, I am Edward Durr, the Republican senate candidate for legislative district 3. Iām a father of 3 & grandfather of 6. Life long resident of NJ. Not seeking power or fame, only give the people better representation. Lower taxes! Transparency!ā Durr tweeted in July.
Durr was interviewed by Elizabeth Nader of āThe Nader Narrativeā in August, where he described his motivation to challenge a high-profile Democrat.
Does it surprise you that Durr was able to pull this off?
YesNo
Completing this poll entitles you to our news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Yes: 0% (0 Votes)
No: 100% (10 Votes)
šŗ Embedded media ā coming soon
The trucker said that he went to obtain a gun permit and was told not to bother by his local sheriff.
āThat kinda angered me ⦠Iām a truck driver, and Iāve been to, I would say almost every military base running up and down the east coast,ā he explained. āIāve been to the Pentagon. Iāve been to CIA. Iāve never been arrested. And I couldnāt get a concealed carry?ā
He said he thought he could win simply by looking at the numbers in the New Jersey district.
āIām a numbers guy, and Iāve looked at the numbers over the years. We have a district that is 150,000 voters. Sen. Sweeney has never broken 32,000 votes,ā he said. āIf he canāt even get half the district, that means thereās numbers out there to be taken, and we just have to motivate and get the people to come out and vote.ā
He was also open with regard to his opposition to Murphy:
As of Wednesday morning, Durr leads Sweeney 51.61 to 48.39 after securing 32,134 votes to the Democratās 30,125 votes with 99.37 percent of the vote in, according to live results from NJ.com.
In his campaign video, he kept things simple:
The New Jersey Globe reported that the expected victory over Sweeney cost Durr only $153.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
