NJ-3 Flips Blue As Dems Sink State Sen. Ed Durr's GOP Ticket: AP

SOUTH JERSEY — Democrats have flipped District 3's State Legislature seats, with longtime Assembly member John Burzichelli defeating incumbent Republican Edward Durr, according to the Associated Press.

The AP called the race for Burzichelli just after midnight Wednesday. Twelve hours later, the news service declared Heather Simmons and Dave Bailey — both Democrats — as winners of the district's Assembly race.

Burzichelli holds 31,091 votes to Durr's 27,327 as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the AP. The Assembly race shows a smaller margin, with fewer than 1,000 votes separating the Democratic candidates from their Republican foes — Bethanne McCarthy Patrick and Thomas Tedesco.

McCarthy Patrick is an incumbent.

Ninety-nine percent of the district's votes have been counted as of 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, the AP estimates.

Burzichelli represented District 3 in the Assembly from 2002-22, beginning his role as deputy speaker in 2006. He lost his re-election bid in 2021 to Durr's Republican ticket, which also ousted then-State Senate President Stephen Sweeney.

Durr's 2021 win was considered a major upset, with the truck driver defeating a powerful figure in New Jersey politics. His ticket's victories marked the GOP's first in District 3's State Legislature elections since 1999. Sweeney and Burzichelli were first elected to the Statehouse two years later.

Since that victory, Durr emerged as a polarizing figure, with his prior social media posts becoming widespread amid his newfound publicity. He apologized in November 2021 for a tweet he sent in September 2019 in which he stated "Mohammad was a pedophile! Islam is a false religion!"

Durr, who opposes abortion, wrote in a 2020 Facebook post, "A woman does have a choice! Keep her legs closed." He also "liked" a Facebook post that called for "spaying women like dogs." Brighter Future Forward, a nonprofit, referenced those actions in an advertisement in this election cycle, prompting several Republican legislature candidates to call the posts "offensive and unacceptable."

District 3 covers Salem County and portions of Cumberland and Gloucester Counties.

See the results below:

State Senate, District 3 (vote for one)

99 percent of votes counted

• John Burzichelli* (D): 31,091 votes
• Edward Durr (R): 27,327 votes

*Declared the winner by the Associated Press

State Assembly, District 3 (vote for two)

99 percent of votes counted

• Heather Simmons* (D): 29,614 votes
• Dave Bailey* (D): 29,513 votes
• Bethanne McCarthy Patrick (R): 28,795 votes
• Thomas Tedesco (R): 28,747 votes

*Declared the winner by the Associated Press