New Jersey's MAGA Cinderella faces a new test: Getting reelected when both parties want him gone

Ed Durr’s ascension to the New Jersey state Senate could have been a movie plot.

Durr, a blue-collar Republican truck driver whose campaign spent just $10,000, rode a wave of populist discontent in 2021 to beat Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney, a 20-year incumbent who exercised sweeping authority as the longest-serving leader in history.

Durr took on New Jersey’s most powerful political machine and won, becoming a cause celebre on the right and a sign of an impending midterm “red wave” that ultimately never came. He was proof that Republicans could still win in blue states even after then-President Donald Trump lost New Jersey to Joe Biden. He soon sold red “Ed the Trucker” hats that bore resemblance to Trump’s famous “Make America Great Again” cap and other memorabilia.

But not long after Durr donned a suit and entered the Statehouse in Trenton, the TV cameras stopped following him. He soon faced the reality of his situation: He’s a backbencher in a minority party — someone with little clout and, on top of that, someone who Democrats want to work against.

Durr now finds himself facing rivals within his own party who believe his election was a fluke, who fault him for politically-damaging social media posts that emerged after his surprise victory and who believe he’s wasted a year by focusing on culture war issues that have already proven to hurt Republicans in the post-Roe era.



https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/12/ed-durr-new-jersey-maga-00086052