SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Edward Durr, a Gloucester County truck driver and political newcomer who reportedly spent very little money on his campaign, has defeated incumbent New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney.
This was a David-and-Goliath matchup, and nobody gave the little guy a chance in this race. Ed Durr has no political experience, and he has knocked off one of the state's most powerful politicians by more than 2,000 votes.
Durr reportedly spent next to nothing on his campaign — about $2,000. And Steve Sweeney, the longest-serving political leader in New Jersey history, has lost his re-election bid in the third legislative district in a stunning political upset.
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It also looks like the Assemblyman from Sweeney's district, John Burzichelli and Adam Taliaferro, also fell victim to a red wave that swept across Cumberland, Salem and Gloucester counties. The Assembly race, though, has not been called yet.
Republicans throughout the state did pretty well. And while Sweeney has been a moderate Democrat, occasionally clashing with more progressive members of his party, including Gov. Phil Murphy, this could be a case where people voted for party over the names they know.
Sweeney says there are still votes coming in, including 12,000 ballots that were just found. He acknowledged that he is trailing but says let’s wait for all the votes to be counted to get a final result.