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PENNSVILLE – It seems fitting that Ed Durr just held a fundraiser at a local hunting club.
It was his strong support for the Second Amendment that propelled “Ed the Trucker” into politics in the first place. Now, he’s still riding the wave as a conservative hero after shocking the state’s political class by upsetting Steve Sweeney, the then-Senate President, in 2021.
It’s been a “long, grueling year,” Durr told supporters over lunch Wednesday at the M&M hunting preserve after his “first annual clay shoot” tournament.
The senator, by the way, admitted not shooting very well that morning.
No matter, he has other concerns as he runs for reelection in LD-3, which covers all of Salem and parts of Gloucester and Cumberland counties.
A Facebook post by Durr back in 2020, which he points out was before he was elected, reads as follows:
“A woman does have a choice. Keep her legs closed.”
Democrats are running with this comment and trying to take it as far as they can. A group called the South Jersey Women’s Alliance is campaigning hard to “Dump Durr.”
That task falls on John Burzichelli, a long time Assemblyman who lost his job in 2021, a down ballot casualty of Durr’s magical ride. He’s now running for the Senate.
“I’ve got better name recognition than he does,” Burzichelli said quickly when I caught up with him a few weekends ago at a “town hall” in Pedricktown. I had asked about the problem of running against a“celebrity.”
Durr certainly fits that bill. His win two years ago earned him Fox News TV appearances and even a congratulatory call from Donald Trump.
As the current campaign unfolds, Durr is – if you excuse the bad pun – firing back at the Dems and their abortion-related attacks.
And it has to do with porn.
Burzichelli is a film producer by profession. And that has prompted a Durr ad that lambastes the
Democrat for producing X-rated films.
Here’s the way the ad begins:
“What’s more ridiculous, a trucker saying something insensitive or a career politician moonlighting as an X-rated movie producer?”
Read that again.
It’s a fascinating line. The unstated suggestion is that you expect a “trucker” like Durr to say “something insensitive” as opposed to, say, reciting a romantic poem.
That is a tough point to make and even some of Durr’s fellow Republicans have criticized his comments on abortion.
Not surprisingly, abortion and porn have brought attention to this race, but it’s worth asking if voters truly care about stuff like that.
Durr says he doesn’t think so.
He wants to ignore “typical politics” and instead concentrate on what he says are the important issues affecting families in the district.
And that’s the “Murphy agenda,” which he says is driving people and businesses out of New Jersey. It’s not only the Democrats’ philosophy, but concrete impediments to business growth like too much regulation.
Durr says he’s not sure why Dems keep raising the abortion issue. Of course, he really does know why – it’s good politics.
The senator’s overall point is that abortion rights in New Jersey have been codified into state law. So, isn’t the issue over? Democrats say that law can change if Republicans win total control of the state.
More broadly, he says:
“I’ve never avoided the fact I am pro-life. I never denied that.”
Durr’s relative fame, notwithstanding, he had to fend off a primary challenge from Assemblywoman Beth Sawyer, who said Durr can’t win in November.
Primaries cause wounds.
“I think we’ve moved past the primary,” Durr said.
A week or so before Durr’s shooting competition and in another part of Salem County, Burzichelli presided over a town hall in a local church.
Heather Simmons, an Assembly candidate on the Dems’ ticket, spoke about influence in Trenton, or rather, lack thereof.
This is a recurring theme from Democrats. Here is their take:
As veteran lawmakers, Sweeney and Burzichelli knew their way around the halls of power, and as such, got things done for south Jersey – money for roads, recreation, schools etc.
This is not a throwaway line. South Jersey politicians have long complained about their region being overlooked.
Simmons said there is now “no seat” at the table for LD-3 concerns.
Burzichelli agreed, saying the region’s influence is a “little bit weak at the moment.” Which is why he wants to get back to Trenton.
Schools are a big issue these days. Republicans, in particular, are condemning state education policy that they say focuses too much on sex and gender discussion in early grades.
Sure enough, the school issue came up at the town hall.
But it wasn’t about sex.
Showing that “parental rights” go both ways, a woman said she feared New Jersey schools could emulate what is reportedly happening in Florida and move to minimize such things as slavery and the civil rights movement.
“That would never happen in New Jersey,” Burzichelli said.
Turnout is always a major issue in state legislative elections. Will talk about abortion and porn attract more voters?
The district has 10,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, but that can be misleading. All agree that this is basically a conservative region.
Salem County, in fact, is a world apart from the rest of the state. It is rural, agricultural and has a mere 65,000 people – in the entire county.
One man who knows the region well is George Geist, a former state lawmaker.
Geist, who was at Durr’s event, said that, “Right now, Republicans are right for south Jersey.”
As for the Democrats, Geist said, “Their values are so left that they’ve left New Jersey.”
Republicans hope he’s right. GOP leaders are dreaming about taking control of at least one house of the Legislature.
For that to have any chance of happening, they can’t lose in LD-3.
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