Steve Sweeney concedes New Jersey Senate election to Republican truck driver

While the beginning of November was accented by the Republican victory of Glenn Youngkin and others in Virginia, there were other races going on. In New Jersey voters re-elected Democrat Phil Murphy in a close race against Jack Ciattarelli.

The other battle of note was in New Jersey’s state Senate.

Tonight’s announcement per Fox News is that Democrat Steven Sweeney has finally conceded to losing the race for New Jersey’s state Senate spot nearly a week after people went to the polls.

It was late last week that the Democrat refused to bow out on his stated grounds that there were thousands of ballots left to be counted.

But now the situation has changed.

"I want to congratulate Mr. Durr and wish him the best of luck," Sweeney said in his press conference speech acknowledging the loss to his opponent. This gesture comes alongside Sweeney chalking up his loss to a "red wave" in comparison to his last election cycle in 2017.

The last significant update came last week when the Associated Press called the election in favor of the Republican challenger. Edward Durr, a truck driver who spent $153 on his campaign (with half of that going to Dunkin Donuts), ousted Democrat Steven Sweeney’s million-dollar effort.

In interviews with the media following his forecasted win against Sweeney, Edward Durr was unsure about immediate plans upon taking office. He reiterated to the press that his goal would remain being a "voice for the people," however.

He had campaigned against the Democrat incumbent for his lockdown policies and criticized Sweeney for not investigating nursing home deaths at the height of the initial COVID pandemic.