Durr describes himself as a 2nd Amendment rights advocate and fiscally conservative, who wants to lower taxes. In an interview with NJ.com, he described how unlikely he viewed his victory to be. He has previously run unsuccessfully for state Assembly in 2017 and 2019, but this is his first elected position.

"I joked with people and I said, 'I'm going to shock the world, I'm going to beat this man,'" Durr said Wednesday afternoon. "I was saying it, but really kind of joking. Because what chance did a person like me really stand against this man? He's literally the second-most powerful person in the state of New Jersey."

Sweeney is an ironworker by trade who has served as an executive with the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers. He is also a key ally and friend of Democratic power broker, George Norcross, who's widely considered to be one of the most powerful unelected people in the state.

Durr also pushed back on media reports that his campaign spent $153 to unseat Sweeny, a West Deptford resident. Durr estimated he spent somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 in the campaign.

"It's a story I keep trying to squash," he said of the lower figure,

An Oct. 26 filing with the state's Election Law Enforcement Commission shows a $153 expense for the 3rd District Republicans' joint campaign, covering the cost of food for poll workers and campaign literature.

But a campaign filing on Wednesday showed additional outlays of about $2,160 from Durr's account for campaign literature, signs and other expenses.

In contrast, an Oct. 4 filing by Sweeney for Senate showed spending of $490,576,46, including $400,000 to a joint campaign for the 3rd District Democrats.

Other spending included more than $7,000 for political meetings at restaurants and more than $50,000 directed to other Democratic campaigns.

That left Sweeney's campaign with a balance of almost $800,000 — a number boosted by more than $116,000 in contributions received later that month.