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Former NJ state Sen ‘Ed the Trucker’ launches bid for governor and predicts a Trump upset

Former NJ state Sen ‘Ed the Trucker’ launches bid for governor and predicts a Trump upset

Former New Jersey state Sen. Edward Durr, who in 2021 made national headlines for unseating longtime state Senate President Stephen Sweeney in an otherwise quixotic bid, told Fox News Digital he believes the Garden State may see more than one political earthquake this year. Durr, who faces 2021 GOP gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli and state Sen. Jon Bramnick in the Republican primary, will potentially have a rematch with Sweeney as he makes a run for the governorship. The Gloucester County Republican said his gubernatorial campaign is not too unlike his first bid against Sweeney, remarking 2024 is also a “campaign of grassroots.” “It is of the people, by the people and for the people,” he said. “I’m not your prototypical candidate, so to speak. I’m not a lawyer, not a doctor, not a rich businessman of sorts. You know, I’m just a regular, working-class guy.” LONGTIME NJ SENATE PRESIDENT CONCEDES TO REPUBLICAN TRUCK DRIVER Durr, who previously worked in construction and was a truck driver for a furniture company when he ran for state Senate, said he is the best candidate to “give people a voice in Trenton – because Trenton has been ignoring the regular person.” “They have always addressed their special interests while ignoring the common man and woman just trying to make ends meet, trying to get by. And somebody needs to speak up for us,” Durr added. While Durr said he supports former President Trump and attended his recent rally on the beach in Wildwood, Durr added there is a public misconception that he is an “ultra-conservative.” Instead, he described himself as an open-minded conservative with traditional viewpoints on fiscal responsibility, public safety, parental rights and the Second Amendment. “But I’m also open-minded to things. I understand that there’s compromise in government. So I don’t like being painted into one category,” he said. “I’ve never liked labels. There’s a sense in that because I think many people say [New Jersey] is a hard blue state. I don’t see us as a hard blue state. I see us as a more purple state with a big blue streak running down the middle of it.” Outside the denser suburbs abutting the New Jersey Turnpike, Durr said it is a “mixed bag” of moderate-to-conservative New Jerseyans who simply want a voice in their government. TRUMP HOLDS MASSIVE BEACHFRONT CAMPAIGN RALLY IN WILDWOOD The main issue, he said, is voter turnout, which he credited for his win over Sweeney in 2021. Durr said 12,000 more voters cast ballots in his first race, but some did not return to the polls in 2023, which he conversely credited for his loss to then-Assemblyman John Burzichelli. “That’s what we’re going to have to do. That’s why I lost this last time,” he said. Durr added he thinks Trump also has a strong chance to win New Jersey, in part because of the geopolitical dynamics he previously described. “The Democrats have [gone] so far and just ignored everybody. They went to the edges. And Donald Trump speaks to the masses,” he said. “You’ve seen it with Wildwood. That’s the biggest rally that’s ever happened in New Jersey; never happened before.” “You couldn’t fill a church with Joe Biden supporters – But you can fill the entire beach of Donald Trump supporters and more wanted to come, but they couldn’t get there.” Additionally, Durr said, the same working-class voters who propelled him to victory will be the ones to do so for Trump if he flips New Jersey. While New Jersey Republicans have been more successful on the gubernatorial level than elsewhere, with recent officeholders Chris Christie and Christine Todd Whitman, Durr said that if elected, he is prepared to work with a Democratic legislature, though he did not rule out the possibility Republicans could score an upset in the state assembly. “One of the major ways is cut the fat. There is a lot of fat. And New Jersey’s budget, the budget continues to increase year after year,” he said, suggesting there are Democrats in the state who may be willing to negotiate with a “Governor Durr” on that front. “It’s a simple policy. Just get rid of the fat and allow people to grow and earn a living – and New Jersey will grow.” An added quality unique to the Garden State is civilian distrust of their officials, he said, discussing the indictments against Sen. Robert Menendez. Menendez’s corruption allegations are helping show why people are “angry and ready to push back” in support of elected officials that speak for them, Durr said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It’s been an acceptable situation… where there’s corruption in politics. I think people are finally learning that it doesn’t have to be. We can actually fight back and say, no, we’re not accepting this. You’re going to serve us. You work for us, ‘We the People’, and you’re going to answer to us,” he said. “And I think that’s finally come about, and I like the possibility of New Jersey actually getting a Republican U.S. senator.” When asked about potentially facing off with Sweeney once more, Durr said his strategy remains the same. He accused Sweeney of portraying himself as a moderate during his Senate tenure but said instead the former lawmaker is a progressive and claimed the Democrat himself stated much of outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy’s liberal agenda could have gotten through the legislature without his approval. Sweeney’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment. When asked about how he would handle sudden crises like the anti-Israel protests on campus, which have also occurred at the state’s major university, Rutgers, Durr said he believes in First Amendment rights to assemble and speak, but that violence and intimidation cross the line. “Those protesters are interfering with students trying to go to school. They have blocked them. They have harassed them. They have assaulted them … that cannot be tolerated,” he said. “I think the protesters are wrong. They don’t

‘Squad’ member Rashida Tlaib calls Biden ‘enabler’ of genocide at conference linked to terrorist group, CCP

‘Squad’ member Rashida Tlaib calls Biden ‘enabler’ of genocide at conference linked to terrorist group, CCP

“Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Sunday blasted President Biden’s handling of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, deriding him as an “enabler” of genocide while speaking at an event attended by at least one member of a designated terrorist organization and funded by an asset of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  The event, the People’s Conference for Palestine was held over the weekend in Detroit, and featured, among other speakers, Wisam Rafeedie, an activist with ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which the U.S. has designated a foreign terrorist organization.  The conference was organized by a left-wing activist group called The People’s Forum, which has played a role in organizing several anti-Israel protests since Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, when the terror group’s members killed at least 1,200 Israelis and took over 200 hostages from Southern Israel into Gaza.  The People’s Forum is part of several organizations that make up the “Singham Network” a global web of nonprofits, fiscal sponsors and alternative news sources tied to Neville Roy Singham, an American-born multimillionaire tech mogul based in Shanghai, who has been described as a “conduit” for CCP geopolitical influence.  In her speech, Tlaib accused President Biden of doing the bidding of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who she called a “murderous war criminal.”  “President Biden says what’s happening [in Gaza] is not a genocide. Where is your red line, President Biden? This is not even consistent with his own views on international law in the past where he’d sit there and said [Russian President Vladimir] Putin must be held accountable at the International Criminal Court.”  ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE ON RAFAH KILLS 2 TOP HAMAS COMMANDERS, DOZENS OF CIVILIANS Tlaib slammed the president and her Democratic colleagues for their condemnation of anti-Israel campus protesters, who disrupted operations for week to protest their school’s ties to Israel.  “It is disgraceful that the Biden administration and my colleagues in Congress continue to smear them for protesting to save lives no matter faith or ethnicity. It is cowardly. But we’re not gonna forget in November, are we?” she declared. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said Tlaib “should be removed from Congress.  “Associating with and speaking before groups that are funded by US designated terrorist organizations is disqualifying,” Lawler posted on X.  Fox News Digital has reached out to Tlaib’s office for comment but did not hear back before publication. 

Has democratic South Africa lost its way?

Has democratic South Africa lost its way?

Governing African National Congress faces its toughest test yet in national election. South Africa is preparing for a milestone election. The governing African National Congress (ANC) has been in power for 30 years, but its dominance over South African politics could be waning. Millions of voters say they are disillusioned, and the country’s unemployment rate is the highest in the world. Violent crime is rising, with the latest police statistics showing a person is killed every 20 minutes. And rolling electricity outages are hurting businesses. The ANC is still the most popular party but its support base is shrinking. So, has the one-party majority run its course? Could the election on Wednesday launch a new political landscape, with rival parties forming coalitions in order to govern? Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam Guests: Crystal Orderson – Journalist and host on Cape Talk radio station Lesego Makhubela – Spokesperson for the governing African National Congress in Gauteng province Nqabayomzi Kwankwa – Opposition MP with the centre-left party the United Democratic Movement Adblock test (Why?)