Politics

Top Democrat In New Jersey State Senate Is Close To Losing His Seat To Republican Truck Driver Who Spent $153 On The Race

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New Jersey Senate president Steve Sweeney may lose his seat to a conservative truck driver who reportedly spent $153 on his campaign.

Edward Durr was leading by over 2,000 votes as of Wednesday morning, the New Jersey Globe reported. A defeat of Sweeney, the longest serving legislative leader in the state’s history, would cause a major rearrangement of New Jersey politics, according to the Globe.

Durr describes himself as “blue collar with a strong conservative belief.” He favors lowering taxes and increasing fiscal responsibility, according to his Facebook page.

The conservative challenger said he encountered Sweeney and challenged him to a debate in October, but Sweeney reportedly declined.

Durr has been critical of Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly Murphy’s decision to force nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients, a decision which Durr says resulted in the deaths of 8,000 seniors in the state. He also says his opponent, Sweeney, spent 20 years doing little more than increasing taxes and the cost of living for New Jersey residents.

Tuesday’s elections proved to be an upset for many Democrat-controlled seats. “In a cycle like this, no Democrat is safe,” said NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer, a Republican from Minnesota. Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governor’s race in Virginia, a state President Joe Biden won by 10 points in 2020.

The race between Durr and Sweeney is too close to call as of the time of this writing.