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NJ Democrat Burzichelli declares victory over GOP's ‘Ed the Trucker’ for state Senate
By
Nancy Solomon
Published Nov 7, 2023
Modified Nov 8, 2023
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Martinns via Getty Images
By
Nancy Solomon
Published Nov 7, 2023
Modified Nov 8, 2023
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Democrat John Burzichelli has won his bid to unseat New Jersey State Sen. Edward Durr — the Republican trucker who surprised New Jersey by ousting then-state Senate President Steve Sweeney in 2021 — according to the Associated Press.
As of mid-day Wednesday, Burzichelli led Durr up 53-49% in the 3rd Legislative District, with 97% of results in.
But as of that point, the AP hadn't yet called Assembly races in the district — making it unclear whether those seats would be added to the Democrats' growing majority in that house. Burzichelli’s running mates, Democrats Heather Simmons and Dave Bailey Jr., held much slimmer leads over Republicans Bethanne McCarthy Patrick and Thomas J. Tedesco Jr., with the Democrats each at just over 25% of the vote and the Republicans each at just under 25%. McCarthy Patrick was the only incumbent in the race for Assembly.
Republican Christopher Del Borrello conceded defeat in an attempt to unseat Democratic incumbent state Sen. Paul Moriarty in the neighboring 4th Legislative District. “With the numbers that came In, there’s no path to victory tonight,” Del Borrello said Tuesday evening, according to NJ Monitor reporter Nikita Biryukov. The Associated Press later confirmed Moriarty's win as well.
Durr is a conservative in a purple district that was thought to be trending Republican since the rise of Trumpism, mostly on the growing appeal the party has with white blue collar workers. But Burzichelli’s declaration of victory in LD-3 and Del Borrello’s concession in LD-4 were early signs Republicans might struggle in their hopes to take over a chamber of the state Legislature. As of 11:20 p.m., the AP hadn’t yet called most races for the state Legislature, though Democrats were showing leads in more races than Republicans.
Durr, 60, is a truck driver for the furniture company Raymour & Flanigan and lives in Logan Township.
Durr’s under-the-radar 2021 campaign, with little name recognition and even less cash, made national headlines. In the 2021 campaign, Durr spent $2,300 and Sweeney spent about $305,000.
In his first term, Durr became one of the most conservative members of the State Senate, opposing abortion rights, gun control and protections for LBGTQ students.
Burzichelli, 68, was elected to the General Assembly in 2001 and was the deputy speaker when he lost his seat in 2021 to the Republican slate. He runs a small film studio, has produced films and was at one time a wrestling promoter. He also served as mayor of Paulsboro from 1996 to 2011.
During the campaign, Burzichelli focused on affordability and abortion rights, and he pointed to what he described as Durr’s extreme positions.
In 2020, before he was elected, Durr posted his opposition to abortion on Facebook, writing, “A woman does have a choice! Keep her legs closed.” Democrats highlighted the old post in mailers leading up to this year’s election.
This post has been updated to reflected more confirmed election results.
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Nancy Solomon
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