Teen candidate whose senior year was ruined by COVID-19 shutdown defeats incumbent NJ school board member by landslide

Nicholas Seppy defeated Terre Alabarda by a landslide for a seat on the township's school board by an overwhelming 17-point margin, according to The College Fix.

As of Wednesday afternoon, with 100 percent of precincts reporting, Seppy received 4,042 votes, while Alabarda garnered only 2,830.

Seppy criticized his school's shutdown during the pandemic, saying it was "awful." His school closed in March of 2020, with students being forced into entirely online learning or hybrid learning models for most of the 2020-2021 school year.

He also stated that he was motivated to run for a seat on the school board "out of a desire to serve in [his] community" and to "give parents a voice in the district." Seppy said that as a school board member, he wants to expand civics education and increase vocational training opportunities for the township's students.

He previously served as student representative on the school board in the 2019-2020 school year, and said that he wants to be represent the student body's best interests in his role as a school board member.

In another underdog election story coming out of New Jersey this year, a former trucker-turned Republican state Senate candidate Edward Durr unseated incumbent Democratic state Senate president Steve Sweeney.

Durr spent only $153 on his election campaign, and used $67 of that portion for Dunkin' Donuts. He made the decision to run for state Senate after being denied a concealed carry permit despite having a clean record.