NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney concedes to GOP newcomer Edward Durr after stunning defeat
TRENTON - Former New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney conceded his senate seat to GOP newcomer Edward Durr on Wednesday, a week after the modest truck driver unseated the state's longest-tenured state legislature.
Sweeney, who recently withheld conceding after he claimed thousands of outstanding ballots remained, admitted Wednesday that he lost by 2,000 votes and would not request a recount.
"It was a red wave, there were 12,000 more people that voted at this time than in 2017," Sweeney told reporters during Wednesday's concession speech. He promised to remain active in the state's politics and work to make New Jersey a more affordable place to live.
Though Sweeney was a fellow-Democrat, he fought Murphy at the start of his administration over raising income taxes on the wealthy and worked closely with Republican Chris Christie during his eight-year term in office ending in 2018.
Durr, a Raymour & Flanigan furniture truck driver, ran a campaign based on his conservative and blue-collar values. He ran a low-budget campaign, shooting a campaign video on a smartphone and rarely hitting the trail to meet with voters.
"I'm not against lawyers or doctors or business people but that's not what we need, we need people who understand the adverse effects of what's going on in this state," Durr said.
Durr's campaign was fueled by small monetary donations and back pats of encouragement, knowing that he had a steep uphill battle to overcome a New Jersey political figurehead. He told FOX 29 that he wound up spending around $10k on his entire campaign after a $150 primary push.
MORE ELECTION DAY HEADLINES
- Edward Durr, GOP truck driver who spent $150 on primary in NJ, defeats Sweeney
- New Jersey governor's race has Murphy, Ciattarelli in dead heat
- NJ Senate president Steve Sweeney speaks out after loss to Edward Durr, GOP newcomer
Coming into Election Day, Democrats had controlled the Assembly with 52 seats to Republicans’ 28. In the Senate, Democrats had 25 seats to the Republicans’ 15.
New Jersey’s Legislature consists of 40 districts, which each send one senator and two Assembly members to Trenton. Assembly members serve two-year terms, while senators serve four-year terms except for the first election after the census, which comes this year, when they serve two-year terms.
NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney concedes to newcomer Edward Durr, cites 'red wave'
New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, one of the most powerful elected officials in the state, conceded that he lost reelection to the state Senate to Republican political newcomer and commercial truck driver Edward Durr.
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