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Durr beats Sawyer in 3rd district GOP showdown
State Sen. Ed Durr (R-Logan) has secured renomination in the 3rd legislative district after defeating his own former running mate, Assemblywoman Beth Sawyer (R-Woolwich), the New Jersey Globe projects.
As of 11:20 p.m., Durr has 65% of the vote to Sawyer’s 35%.
Durr’s two running mates, Assemblywoman Bethanne McCarthy Patrick (R-Mannington) and Hopewell Township Committeeman Tom Tedesco, also beat Sawyer’s lone running mate, Joseph Collins. McCarthy Patrick and Tedesco each have 38% of the vote, while Collins has just 23%.
Durr, McCarthy Patrick, and Sawyer ran together as a team in 2021, when they stunningly defeated Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) and his running mates in a race few thought would be competitive. The unexpected victory quickly established the trio of new legislators, especially the truck-driving Durr, as political legends.
But once they began serving in the legislature together, relations between Durr and Sawyer quickly deteriorated. At the beginning of this year, Sawyer assembled slate to take Durr down, with Salem County Commissioner Mickey Ostrum (R-Pilesgrove) at the head of the ticket.
The Ostrum-Sawyer campaign was dealt a series of significant blows when all three county GOP organizations in the 3rd district gave their backing to Durr. Facing long odds against the incumbent senator, Ostrum dropped out of the race in March, just a month after he had launched his campaign to begin with.
For a short while, that left Durr without any opposition at all. But a few days before the filing deadline, Sawyer jumped into the race, recruiting Collins to run with her and joining up with a full slate of off-the-line Republican candidates in Gloucester County and the neighboring 4th legislative district.
Sawyer argued that Durr deserved to be denied renomination because he hadn’t been an effective legislator, saying that he showboated on cultural issues instead of fighting for 3rd district residents. Durr, on the other hand, kept up largely positive, conservative message and brought in outside surrogates – including probable 2025 gubernatorial candidate Bill Spadea – to back him up.
With a solid fundraising edge and high name recognition, the primary contest between the two was always Durr’s to lose. Now, though, Durr faces what may be an even bigger test: a general election fight against South Jersey Democrats, who are prepared to spend heavily to defeat him and put former Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Paulsboro) in his place.
