Roy Exum
The script reads like an episode on “The Sopranos.” Here we have a pro-labor Democrat who is one of New Jersey’s top lawmakers in the state legislature. Stephen Sweeney has served in the legislature for 20 years, most notably as the president of the Senate. And then we have Edward Durr, a truck driver for a furniture company who is just as fed up with “fat cat” politicians as an ever-growing number of Americans are.
Durr gets his name on the ballot, spends $153 bucks early in his campaign and, with absolutely no political experience, the down-to-earth Durr tops Sweeney 32,742 votes versus 30,444 in South Jersey’s Third District.
The outcome is so hysterical that ‘Saturday Night Live’ has already done a skit on it.
“Fat Cat Sweeney,” flatly refusing to concede until mail-in votes are finalized, immediately announced “thousands of ballots” had been found in one county, but, noting all the raised eyebrows, he later back tracked. On the other hand, the winner – looking like a deer caught in the media crush of camera lights – will not accept the victory until the voter count is official.
"Look … It didn’t happen because of me. I’m nobody. I’m just a simple guy," Durr said last week. "It was a repudiation of the policies that have been forced down our throat. People are told they can’t go to school, can’t go shopping. You cannot continue to tell people they can’t do things when we live in the freest country in the world."
"But make no mistake … "I want this job. I don’t want all the fame, but I want this job," Durr said. "I want to be the voice. I want to be somebody who can speak for the people. Because, one, I got a big mouth, so I like to make myself heard."
Democrat leaders are staggered. “No one on God’s earth could have predicted that," Democratic state Senator Richard Codey said, according to NJ.com.
"Anyone who said they saw this coming is lying. Even Sweeney’s opponent didn’t see this coming," Democratic strategist Joshua Henne said of the race.
“I just want the votes counted,” said Sweeney, the longest-serving Senate president in state history. “That’s what I said, and that’s what we’re gonna do. That’s it.”
“I have no idea whether it’s gonna be close, whether it’s gonna be far, whatever,” Sweeney said. “The worst it’s gonna be is 2,000 votes. We’ll see where it comes.”
After the state’s elections are certified Nov. 15, candidates have 17 days to petition the courts for a recount,” according to a nj.com story. But asked whether he’d ask for one, Sweeney said only, “I’m not gonna do anything until I see what the numbers are.”
Again, from nj.com: Shortly after the AP called the race Thursday, Sweeney said he was waiting for more votes to be counted and that was when he noted how “there were 12,000 ballots recently found in one county.”
He said Monday he didn’t mean to imply those votes were lost and then discovered. “I didn’t say they were found,” Sweeney said. “I said 12,000 votes came into Camden County. My point is: Votes are coming in. I don’t know how many are coming in. I won’t know until today. But votes were coming in every day. Could there be a large number of votes? Could there be no votes? The point is: Just let us count the votes. I’ve earned that.”
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FROM NEW JERSEY 101.5 RADIO: The truck driver who took out the most powerful Democrat in the state Legislature is getting a crash course in the rough and tumble game of politics in New Jersey. It turns out Edward Durr not only can take a punch, but he can throw them, too.
Fresh off his stunning upset of Senate President Steve Sweeney, Durr says he knows he comes to Trenton with a target on his back. Governor Phil Murphy called him a "dangerous guy" after Durr's social media posts denigrating Islam and calling U.S. Senator Bob Menendez a "pedophile" came to light.
Durr apologized if he hurt anyone's feelings with his past posts but wasn't going to let Murphy's swipe go unchallenged. The senator-elect told NewJerseyGlobe.com, "Phil Murphy is far more dangerous than I could ever be." Durr claimed Murphy's policies have led to a mass exodus out of New Jersey and claimed Murphy "killed 10,000 nursing home residents."
Durr has shown early that he is not afraid to speak his mind. He told New Jersey 101.5's Dennis and Judi after his upset win, "I've got a big mouth and I don't shut up, so let me be that guy who screams and hollers in Trenton."
Durr has rocketed to political stardom since his election victory, and even received a phone call from former President Donald Trump. Trump who told him "if there is anything I can do, let me know."
But despite the attention, Durr has limited his media appearances to mostly Jersey-centric organizations, including New Jersey 101.5, and you won't see him on many of the national media platforms anytime soon. Durr wrote on Facebook he has been invited to appear on CNN and MSNBC, but calling them "leftist cable networks," he declined.
“There is absolutely no way I will accept an invitation from CNN, MSNBC or any other leftist cable network. CNN and MSNBC can go find another way to pull their ratings out of the toilet. - NJ Senator-elect Edward Durr/Facebook.
An update on New Jersey election results is imminent.
royexum@aol.com