Stephen Sweeney
Soon-to-be-former New Jersey Senate president Stephen Sweeney doesn't really look happy. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

The potential loss by one of New Jersey’s most powerful politicians would result in upheaval of political power in the state, forcing the Senate to find a new president. Sweeney has been the chamber’s leader since 2010.

Just four years ago, he won reelection in what at the time may have been the most expensive legislative race in American history.

[Challenger Edward] Durr said he entered the race after being denied a concealed carry permit despite having a clean record. State campaign finance records show a slate of candidates including Durr raised more than $10,000 during their campaign but spent only $153: $66.64 at Dunkin to buy food and drinks for staff and $86.67 for paper flyers and business cards.

— Rudy Chinchilla and Brian X. McCrone in Truck Driver Leads NJ Senate President After Spending $153 on Campaign

46 COMMENTS

    • New Jersey is a may issue state. If you’re a billionaire or politician you will get a permit to carry. Ordinary citizens don’t get permits. Durr is an ordinary citizen. You do the math…

      • All of the politicians in New Jersey are anti-gun. Christie was Gov and Republican. He was very anti-gun. Don’t put this solely on Democrats, history shows that Republicans have been as anti-gun as Dems.
        This is just globalists(Corporcrats, NWO, the people behind the curtain, communists, Nazis, whoever you want to blame) trying to set worldwide policy.
        While our country(U.S.A.) is very important here, other countries in the industrialized world need their own version of the 2nd, this is the only way we can stay out of the slavers’ clutches.

        • NOT SO FAST you people!

          Senate President Sweeney is coming back. Due to an “unfortunate” error, 12,000 ballots in one county were never counted. Or we just found them, or printed them up, whatever.

          Did you really think we were going to let you win? We count the votes, and if that isn’t enough we will just “find” some more.

          THIS is what winning looks like…. Losers

          https://twitter.com/Maddashell1/status/1456148998457229319?

    • NJ is a “may issue” state rather than a “shall issue” state. The difference seems small but I can assure you it is NOT.

    • They don’t need a reason to deny. Standard policy is to deny, unless there is lots of bribe money enclosed with the application. A two million dollar donation to the Democrat party might have been enough to get approval. The bribes need to be funneled so that no individual person has his name attached, but two million dollars buys a lot of approval.

    • He only spent $153 on his senate bid, what do you think his palm greasing corrupt bureaucrats so he could get a carry permit budget was?

    • I read that the sheriff where he lives told him “don’t even bother”. I would expect that is the normal attitude anywhere in NJ for ordinary citizens who want to apply for a permit to carry.

    • Doesn’t hurt to have this guy around the capital.
      Need Tony Soprano, how did he get his permit?

    • His campaign manager was caught on hidden cam revealing that Murphy will go full NYC/CA style vaccine mandate and vaccine passport after he wins. They just had to hide that fact so he wouldn’t lose any votes. Of course when confronted about that undercover video, the typical Libs like to blame the “radical right wing extremist news organization” and deflect the accusations.

  1. You can bet your last dollar that DACIAN, the Dunce is beside himself with anger and incensed that the people don’t want his socialist ideology.

    • Or anyone else who has studied history.

      Leftists keep promising to do it better next time but keep on falling back on their usual methods.

  2. Those claims that Durr only spent $153 on his campaign are disingenuous. Sure, Durr himself only spent $153. Other entities, however, spent a LOT more.

    Click on his campaign video included in this post. That video alone probably cost upwards of $5k to record, produce, and distribute. And you can see at the end of the video that some political action committee paid for that video.

    I would like to see the total amount of money that all entities spent to assist Mr. Durr in winning his election. I suspect that would be in the 100s of thousands of dollars minimum.

    • Durr reportedly spent under $5,000 on his general election campaign. His campaign video was filmed on an iPhone by the nephew of a good friend,

      • He raised over $10K but latest filing lists $2300.00 in expenditures about 1% of Sweenys reprted $2 million plus campaign… Durr didn’t even have a website, just knocked on doors, handed out flyers and kicked one NJs most powerful politicians in the ass…

  3. Since I live in MA this is why may issue needs to go. Over here whether or not you can even get a concealed carry permit depends on what town you live in. Some towns flat out deny. But the thing is and this has happened is that when out of state, if a permit holder is legal in that state and has a permit with restrictions that person could face felony charges for carrying under a restricted permit. The whole system is a mish mash of absolute garbage. Even here if I ask 10 cops about a gun law I get 10 different answers.

    The crazy thing is I just happen to live in a town that will issue permits and it allows to me conceal carry anywhere in the state. Some poor chap who lives 2 streets over but in a different town is denied this right and cannot concealed carry anywhere.

    Even here people who have permit restrictions even with clean records can have those restrictions removed (more later) by taking the case to court. However in MA that’s taking a chance with loaded dice because the left controls everything including the courts and there has never been a successful challenge to a restriction until the person has enough money to challenge it in federal court. In that case usually the left wing towns back down immediately and issue the license. But it takes thousands of dollars for a person with no criminal background whatsoever to accomplish this.

    I hope this guy gets his permit and the ‘special’ senator who I would very likely guess has a ‘I’m one of the beautiful people’ permits gets it pulled and gets caught in his own laws and goes to jail for decades.

    • Earlier this year, I got my CCW from a neighboring state. The entire process (class time, shoot test, application, trip to Sheriff station, Livescan/fingerprints/photo, etc.) took one single day. A long day, but a single day. I got my permit in the mail.

      I applied for my CA permit as well. Took a week to complete the (split) class time and shoot test, then another couple of days to properly fill out the application because I needed to go back to the class instructor to get the required class completion certificate. Then I went to the Sheriff station and submitted the application. The Deputy confirmed that the application appeared to be in order with nothing lacking. That was back in July.

      I am still waiting for the required interview. In CA, we need to be personally interviewed to “confirm” whatever, I guess. That’s the problem with “may issue”…even though I jumped through the hoops, paid the fees, and passed the background check, there’s still no guarantee I’ll even get the permit. So here we are, in November a few months later, and I’m still waiting.

      • I Haz a Question,

        Let’s say that yesterday’s Supreme Court case renders a declaration where all states must have a “shall issue” concealed carry licensing scheme. I can picture California claiming that they cannot simply remove the “just cause” part of their scheme. Rather they will have to study the entire landscape and create a new law–which will take at least two years of course. And then California’s new law will increase the barriers: perhaps increasing the cost of the license to $1000 (or more and renewing every year) and requiring five continuous days of training which typically cost $4,000 or more. And then California will require some sort of liability insurance which will cost another $1000 annually. Last but not least, the new California “shall issue” concealed carry law would also likely require “refresher” training and range qualification every year which would cost upwards of $500. Thus California could easily increase the actual cost of a license to $2500 annually in addition to the $4000 up-front for the initial training.

        In other words Far Left states like California will find “clever” ways to delay the process and make “shall issue” concealed carry licensing so expensive that only the Ruling Class will be able to afford it. Same as it ever was.

        And, needless to say, the inevitable lawsuits challenging such an expensive scheme would take upwards of five years or longer to bubble-up all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And the process would repeat in California again which would take another two years to wind through the legislature. That means we could easily be nine years away from anything remotely resembling a practical concealed carry licensing scheme in Far Left states like California.

        • Most carry illegally in this state anyway.

          Its sad that the government has turned its citizens into criminals, but none the less, thats what they’ve done.

        • @Uncommon,

          Fortunately, all the things you mentioned have already been tried in other Leftist States, and have been defeated as unconstitutional. That’s not to say the Dems won’t try it here, but there’s already precedent to overturn.

        • I had a CCW in CA in the late 80’s when I lived in a Northern County, cost was $56 US. I now live in the liberal north bay area, and inquired on getting a CCW, the cost is upwards of $950, I told the tyrant in charge of issue no thank you, I’ll take my chance of being caught carrying
          without a permit and bid him good-day.
          Who knows, at my age, I have plenty of time and resources to fight if I do happen to be found bearing arms that are hidden from public view.

        • Meanwhile, pocket pistols are still legal in Ca, as long as they are locked up or on your property(in your pocket?). How many people forget, everyday, that they left the pp in their pocket?

      • Iowa takes one day too.
        The son of an acquaintance did the process on his 21st birthday, had his LTC in hand five days later.

      • Haz,
        Did you have to reside in the state for a certain amount of time? I thought you had to be a resident. Congrats anyway!

      • In PA it is 10 minutes and $20 in my county. They hand you the one page flyer on gun laws and off you go with laminated permit in hand. Funny thing…with some politicians view of rural folks, you would think we would have a lot more shootings. It’s pretty peaceful here in the sticks…

  4. The next motorcycle fatality in NJ (death attributed to the WuFlu)….
    Eye witnesses all report that a black sedan, make and model unknown, seemed to swerve intentionally into the space occupied by Mr. Durr on his Harley Davidson motorcycle forcing him off the road and into a concrete bridge abuttment… Mr. Durr was pronounced dead at the scene… The investigation will continue…

  5. That has always been the problem with “May issue” states. Sooner or later, the local governments realise they can turn it into a profit center. And they do.

    When a right becomes a privilege, the rich dont suffer, only the serfs.

  6. Great, But remember that every time a Dem politician opens their mouth, they are lying. You know, a intentional distortion of facts. Just remember when you vote, that every blue state is promising, high taxes, political corruption, high crime, poverty, failing schools, lots of talk but no action, well if this is what you want, just keep voting democrat! Can’t prove me wrong.

      • There are no “I”, it is a way to sound superior when you are really the same as others! I agree, they all tell lies, as all people do, the best lie is the one we tell ourselves.

        • There are no “I”, it is a way to sound superior when you are really the same as others

          And you would be “mostly” mistaken… I am a registered “I”ndependent… I have voted in every Presidential election since 1972.. I’ve voted for two Democrats and seven Republicans (obviously two losers)… I vote issues, I’m as likely to vote for a moderate Democrat (well back when there was such a thing) as I am a Republican (and a couple of RINOs)… I’ve never voted for a Libertarian because I’ve yet to find one that really understands what a Libertarian is… I have voted for several Independents locally… Never just dump everyone into one basket (like the Deplorables) there are ALWAYS exceptions..

  7. I LIKE IT , POINT IS FAIR HONEST ELECTION , THE PEOPLES VOTE COUNTS ..
    NONE THAT FAKE , LIE N LOSER , tRUMP BS .

  8. Small observation.

    Sweeney won re-election in the last election even though the teachers union spent 7.4 million in an attempt to unseat him.

    This election a regular guy who spent less than 3k (campaign expenditures have been updated) took away the reins of the second most powerful pol in NJ after 20 years of nesting.

    I would say this bodes very well for mid terms and the next presidential election. Good job dems 😀

  9. The may issue thing turns a right into a privilege.

    Imagine if the first amendment was may issue. No protests, petitions, church seevices or parades unless you show “good reason”.

    Imagine if the right to vote was may issue. Good day sir why do you want to vote? Because I like Bernie, Bush or Trump. Not good enough thanks for applying.

    This is a natural ( right of anyone born) and a Constitutional right no discretion. The government should have to PROVE that you shouldn’t be allowed to excercise this right. Not may be or probably you shouldn’t be allowed to.

    Sullivan’s law in NYC is an odious abomination to freedom that has stood for over a century. Remove it and any other law that enables it.

    If I want to carry, the state should PROVE that I shouldn’t. Otherwise give out the permit. So glad I left that sh*thole.

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