The president of the New Jersey Senate is in danger of a stunning upset loss to his Republican truck driver challenger.
Sen. Steve Sweeney, a longtime Garden State Democrat leader, is trailing Republican challenger Edward Durr by thousands of votes.
Durr spent only $153 on his general election campaign, according to campaign finance filings.
Durr, a truck driver by trade, is on the verge of a stunning upset over Sweeney, who is the longest-serving legislative leader in New Jersey history.
Should Durr win, the upset would upend Garden State Democratic Party leadership.
“I have lived here all my life. I have been a commercial truck driver for the last 25 years. I consider myself to be ‘blue collar,'” Durr states on his campaign website.
Republicans are making gains in the Garden State as the race for the governor’s mansion remains neck and neck between incumbent Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy and Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli, a former assemblyman.
The two gubernatorial campaigns were intense, with Murphy positioning himself as a progressive while Ciattarelli tried to paint Murphy as out of touch and criticizing Murphy’s COVID-19 response.
Both campaigns expressed optimism at the end of their election night parties, but neither side claimed victory in the race.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy
(USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect)
“We’ve sent a message to the entire nation. This is what I love about this state: Every single time it’s gone too far off track, the people of this state have pushed, pulled and prodded it right back to where it needs to be,” Ciattarelli said.
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“We’re all sorry that tonight cannot yet be the celebration we wanted it to be,” Murphy said. “But when every vote is counted — and every vote will be counted — we hope to have a celebration.”
The too-close-to-call race was widely seen as an easy win for the Democrats, but Tuesday’s gains in Virginia may provide a hint as to how New Jersey goes.
Fox News’ Edmund DeMarche contributed reporting.
Houston Keene is a reporter for Fox News Digital. You can find him on Twitter at @HoustonKeene.
