Spending $153, Edward Durr ousts NJ Senate leader Sweeney

3 years ago 233

TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey’s longtime authorities Senate president, Democrat Steve Sweeney, mislaid reelection, falling to a Republican newcomer who spent little than $200 connected the contention and leaving his enactment reeling.

Edward Durr, a furnishings institution motortruck operator and first-time candidate, defeated Sweeney successful New Jersey’s 3rd Legislative District, according to results tallied Thursday.

Sweeney’s decision was unexpected and threw his party’s legislative enactment contention into limbo connected Wednesday, erstwhile helium postponed a gathering acceptable for Thursday. Sweeney had been expected to instrumentality arsenic Senate president, but who’ll instrumentality implicit and what borderline Democrats volition person successful the authorities Legislature is unclear.

“It is stunning and shocking and I cannot fig it out," said Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg said successful an interview.

Sweeney has served arsenic Senate president since 2010 and was liable for shepherding Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s progressive docket done the Legislature, including a phased-in $15 an hr minimum wage, paid sick permission and recreational marijuana legalization.

He is besides known for his high-profile reversal connected absorption to cheery marriage. Sweeney said successful 2011 that helium made the “biggest mistake of my legislative career” erstwhile helium voted against matrimony equality.

Though Sweeney was a chap Democrat, helium fought Murphy astatine the commencement of his medication implicit raising income taxes connected the affluent and worked intimately with Republican Chris Christie during his eight-year word successful bureau ending successful 2018.

For instance, Sweeney worked retired a woody with Christie to overhaul the nationalist idiosyncratic pension successful which workers gave up outgo of surviving increases successful speech for regular authorities payments to the status fund.

The compact with Christie enactment Sweeney astatine likelihood with nationalist assemblage unions, who would spell connected to go cardinal supporters of Murphy.

Sweeney's nonaccomplishment was cheered by progressive Democrats from confederate New Jersey, who saw him arsenic a merchandise of transactional, instrumentality politics.

“Today is glorious,” said Sue Altman, manager of New Jersey Working Families, successful a tweet. Altman is simply a longtime professional of Sweeney's power implicit the enactment and saw him arsenic focused connected trying to support that control, peculiarly successful confederate New Jersey.

His allies accidental helium was open-minded and who yet delivered for the left.

“I deliberation helium was a singular legislator and Senate president, and arsenic I person often reminded my progressive friends that we ne'er could person gotten each those bills connected Gov. Murphy's table for him to motion without the practice of the Senate president," Weinberg said.

Among the hundreds of bills Sweeney shepherded through: recreational marijuana legalization, paid sick permission and a hike successful the minimum wage — twice, erstwhile done a law amendment nether Chris Christie and again done a measure nether Murphy.

Sweeney had faced electoral absorption before. In 2017, his feud with the state’s biggest teacher’s national implicit status benefits among different issues led to a conflict successful which the New Jersey Education Association spent millions to effort to decision Sweeney. The union’s effort failed.

But this year, Durr defeated him, spending $153.31, according to Election Law Enforcement Commission documents.

Messages seeking remark person been near with Durr and Sweeney.

Durr describes himself arsenic a 2nd Amendment rights advocator and fiscally conservative, who wants to little taxes. In an interrogation with NJ.com, helium described however improbable helium viewed his triumph to be.

“I joked with radical and I said, ‘I’m going to daze the world, I’m going to bushed this man,’” Durr said Wednesday afternoon. “I was saying it, but truly benignant of joking. Because what accidental did a idiosyncratic similar maine truly basal against this man? He’s virtually the second-most almighty idiosyncratic successful the authorities of New Jersey.”

Sweeney is an ironworker by commercialized who has served arsenic an enforcement with the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers. He is besides a cardinal state and person of Democratic powerfulness broker, George Norcross, who’s wide considered to beryllium 1 of the astir almighty unelected radical successful the state.

It's unclear who volition go the adjacent Senate president. If Democrats support power of the chamber, arsenic incomplete results amusement they could do, past Democratic senators volition conscionable to take their adjacent leader.

The 3rd Legislative District covers parts of Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.

Coming into Election Day, Democrats had controlled the authorities Assembly with 52 seats to Republicans’ 28. In the authorities Senate, Democrats had 25 seats to the Republicans’ 15.

New Jersey’s Legislature consists of 40 districts, which each nonstop 1 legislator and 2 Assembly members to Trenton. Assembly members service two-year terms, portion senators service four-year presumption but for the archetypal predetermination aft the census, which comes this year, erstwhile they service two-year terms.

Read Entire Article