New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney (D) on Wednesday conceded to his Republican opponent, Edward Durr Jr., capping one of the most dramatic political upsets in recent memory.
The longtime Democratic leader’s concession comes six days after the state Senate race was called for Durr. Sweeney had said last week that he wanted to “make sure every vote is counted.”
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“The results of Tuesday’s elections are in,” Sweeney said at a news conference. “All votes have been fairly counted. And I, of course, accept the results. I want to congratulate Mr. Durr and wish him the best of luck.”
He added that it has been “an honor and a privilege” to represent the people of New Jersey’s 3rd Legislative District and to serve as state Senate president.
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“I’ve had the opportunity to work with extraordinary people, and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish for our legislative district, for South Jersey and for the state,” Sweeney said.
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According to NJ Advance Media, state Sens. Nicholas Scutari and Nia Gill are among those vying to succeed Sweeney as state Senate president. Democrats still retain control of both chambers of the legislature, although Republicans are projected to have picked up at least six seats by the time the final results are tallied, the news organization reported.
How the media missed a New Jersey senate candidate’s racist social media posts — until he’d already won.
Durr, a commercial truck driver who has never held elective office, has spent the past several days preparing to take office as well as seeking to walk back some of his previous social media posts, which began circulating online after his victory last week.
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At a news conference at the Gloucester County Republican Party headquarters Wednesday afternoon, Durr said Sweeney had called him to concede and congratulated him on winning the race.
“To Senator Sweeney, I congratulate you on a long career. Who knows? Maybe some day we can have a beer together,” Durr said.
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Durr also said former president Donald Trump had called him on Sunday. “He just congratulated me and he wished me the best of luck, and he told me if there was anything he could do for me,” to give him a call, Durr said.
Among the dozens of social media posts that have attracted attention is a September 2019 Twitter post in which Durr said: “Mohammed was a pedophile! Islam is a false religion! Only fools follow muslim teachings! It is a cult of hate!”
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In a Facebook post, Durr reportedly called the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol “not an insurrection … [but] an unauthorized entry by undocumented federal employers!”
Muslim civil rights groups condemned Durr’s tweets. Durr addressed the tweets in an interview with NPR member station WHYY last week.
“I’m a passionate guy. And I say things in the heat of the moment. And if I said anything in the past that hurt anybody’s feelings, I sincerely apologize. … I support everybody’s right to worship in any manner they choose, to the God of their choice,” he said. His Twitter account was no longer accessible as of Wednesday.
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Durr told reporters Wednesday that he is meeting with representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) later in the day to discuss his past statements. He blamed the media for focusing on his past Islamophobic remarks and said he is “moving forward” from the issue.
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“These are things I've done in the past. It doesn’t define me as a person. … I apologize for offending anyone who might be offended by the things I did,” Durr said, adding that he believes he has “grown as a person.”
Even as Sweeney conceded Wednesday, another unsuccessful candidate in New Jersey has refused to do so.
Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli, who fell short in his bid to oust Gov. Phil Murphy (D), has not spoken about the results since Thursday, when he called Murphy’s declaration of victory “premature.”
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As of Wednesday afternoon, Murphy led Ciattarelli by roughly 2.8 percentage points, larger than the margin by which Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin (R) won his race against former governor Terry McAullife (D) last week.
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Murphy’s campaign has publicly pressed Ciattarelli to concede, describing his silence as “an assault on the integrity of our elections.”
“The race is over,” Murphy campaign manager Mollie Binotto said in a statement early Monday. “Assemblyman Ciattarelli is mathematically eliminated, and he must accept the results and concede the race. His continuing failure to do so is an assault on the integrity of our elections.”
Ciattarelli’s campaign responded in a statement Monday afternoon, with campaign legal counsel Mark Sheridan saying that “waiting for a day or two” would offer more clarity on the numbers and help determine whether the campaign should seek a recount.
David Weigel contributed to this report.