- Forget Travis Kelce jerseys, Taylor Swift Super Bowl sweatshirts are America’s hottest merch: ‘In My Chiefs Era’ New York Post
- Taylor Swift begins dash back from Tokyo to make boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Super Bowl game Sky News
- Super Bowl 2024: Time, TV, free live stream, how to watch Chiefs vs. 49ers on CBS, Paramount+, Nickelodeon CBS Sports
- ‘Go Taylor’s Boyfriend’: the Super Bowl gear for Swifties sweeping Etsy and TikTok The Guardian
- Taylor Swift tracker and Super Bowl halftime show live updates: Star’s flight to Vegas, Usher’s performance The Athletic
Tag Archives: Jerseys
Steelers Reveal New Practice Jerseys for Training Camp – Steelers Now
- Steelers Reveal New Practice Jerseys for Training Camp Steelers Now
- Darnell Washington, Broderick Jones, DeMarvin Leal, Kevin Dotson on Steelers training camp Pittsburgh Steelers
- Editorial: Pennsylvania lawmakers need training camp | TribLIVE.com TribLIVE
- Dejan Kovacevic: Drama-free, ego-free, all these talented, hungry Steelers would appear to need now is … only the hardest part DKPittsburghSports.com
- Steelers’ Mike Tomlin Quickly Shuts Down Reporter Over Controversial Question “No Idea What You’re Talking About” Steeler Nation
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Taylor Swift Eras Tour in New Jersey’s Metlife Stadium: Best Moments – Billboard
- Taylor Swift Eras Tour in New Jersey’s Metlife Stadium: Best Moments Billboard
- Taylor Swift’s 3.5 Hour New York City Stop on the ‘Eras Tour’ Cements Her Pop Culture Dominance, Celebrates Ice Spice: Concert Review Variety
- Taylor Swift dazzles in glitzy outfits on stage in New Jersey Daily Mail
- Taylor Swift played the BIGGEST ‘Eras Tour’ show during MetLife first night, here’s a recap News9 LIVE
- Rachel Zegler Attended Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, And It Looks Like She Was Living Her Best Swiftie Life Yahoo Entertainment
- View Full Coverage on Google News
NHL players ostracizing LGBTQ+ fans by refusing to wear rainbow jerseys, says sports commentator – CBC News
- NHL players ostracizing LGBTQ+ fans by refusing to wear rainbow jerseys, says sports commentator CBC News
- NHL needs frank Pride Night discussion as controversy isn’t going away New York Post
- NHL faces controversy over Pride Nights after more players refuse to wear Pride jersey Global News
- Florida Panthers’ Staal brothers are latest NHL stars to refuse Pride jerseys, citing ‘religious beliefs’ CNN
- Unwelcome spotlight falls on National Hockey League team Pride night events after several players decline participation WLS-TV
- View Full Coverage on Google News
No evidence of armed suspect or shots fired at New Jersey’s Monmouth University; curling iron mistaken for weapon: Police – WPVI-TV
- No evidence of armed suspect or shots fired at New Jersey’s Monmouth University; curling iron mistaken for weapon: Police WPVI-TV
- Shelter-in-place lifted at Monmouth University after curling iron mistaken for weapon ABC News
- Staff, students at Monmouth University ordered to shelter in place for possible armed person NJ.com
- Shelter in place issued at Monmouth University due to possible armed suspect Eyewitness News ABC7NY
- Monmouth University gives all-clear on ‘armed subject;’ shelter order lifted Asbury Park Press
- View Full Coverage on Google News
NBA’s City Edition jerseys for 2022-23 are out. Here are some of their backstories
The NBA released its newest slate of City Edition jerseys, the ones teams will wear for the 2022-23 season. These uniforms, from jersey to shorts, usually carry some kind of thematic tie to the franchise’s home city.
The Athletic spoke to Jesse Alvarez, Nike’s product director of men’s basketball, to get a sense of how some of the most notable City Edition jerseys were designed and the details fans should look for when watching their teams play.
I want to start with the Spurs jersey. Can you walk me through the design and the inspiration for it?
Photo courtesy of the NBA.
The Spurs, I think, as a lot of people remember, have one of the most iconic All Star Game uniforms that we’ve done, just in the world of jersey culture. So you can see some pretty clear nods to that in terms of just the color and the vibe. That was really the focus for that one, to be able to tie that in. You asked about some of the details: I think the belt buckle ‘SA’ and the Spur logos on the belt hook was just like a really nice way to round out and add a subtle detail to highlight the All Star uniform that they’ve been synonymous with.
So I recognize the coloring for that when I’m looking at those jerseys. The Pistons ones are green, a color I don’t associate usually with Pistons colors. What happened there?
Detroit has an amazing story. One of the things about that story is St. Cecilia. So St. Cecilia is really a place where players used to go run and play pickup basketball. And so that color, the green, is inspired by the actual St. Cecilia. That, coupled with the iconic details of the short patch, you’ll actually see like a stained glass or a grab that’s inspired by the stained glass that shows up at St. Cecilia, with a 313 logo at the center of it just as a way to weave those stories together. The mantra of St. Cecilia was ‘Where stars are made, not born.’ So it just really packages that story all together to bring that to life.
GO DEEPER
Isiah. Magic. Gervin. How a Detroit church gym became the birthplace of legends
Did you guys send people there to kind of look through the gym and just walk through it?
Yeah, so we actually partner with the team, and so the team was over there. They’re sending us pictures, you name it. Anything that we needed, we got to be able to really bring that to life. Like with any uniform, really, it starts with the team. They know their fan bases the best. And so that’s where all those points of inspiration are coming from.
Photo courtesy of the NBA.
For you, do you have a favorite jersey?
You know, it’s funny, I was just telling someone it’s hard to have a favorite. Especially, they all feel like your kids. But I think, just right behind you, Chicago. I really like Chicago. I think how the municipal Y shows up in a number of different ways. And the symbology behind it, like uniting a city and how the Bulls at the center of the the Y on the side profile. I think this is a great representation of how a team is at the heart of a city. So Chicago is where I live.
I liked the color pattern on the Timberwolves one, but obviously it’s not something that’s associated with the Wolves. What is that about? What makes that unique?
One of the unique things about City Edition (jerseys) just in general, before I answer your question, is that with each story from an organization, they get to take it to wherever place they want to go. So Minnesota is known as being a creative hotspot for artists of all sorts. That (jersey) is a nod to some of the creative community. So one of the things that makes that uniform unique is that the pattern that you see in the uniform, it actually gets cut in a different way for every uniform. So every uniform is a unique one, just kind of as a way that each creative is unique in their own way. So that’s really how that story comes to life.
So you guys have like a big pattern of all these colors. Each swatch is different for each uniform?
Think about it more in in terms of when you think about how a uniform was made, each piece gets cut, so no two pieces are the same. So when they’re sewing those things together, every uniform is going to be slightly different, just like a fingerprint.
Photo courtesy of the NBA.
I know sometimes you guys collaborate not only with teams but with like certain individuals on creating the jerseys. Is there anyone notable here that helps you with the creation, with the ideation of some jerseys?
Yeah, Detroit’s a great example. Big Sean is the creative director with the Pistons, so he’s somebody who helped bring that to life. Right behind you, you have KITH with the New York Knicks. Those are those are the two teams that are top of mind. Just kind of highlight some of the names that also work with organizations to bring their city edition uniforms to life.
I was looking at the Hornets’. That’s the angriest hornet I’ve ever seen in my life.
It’s an aggressive hornet. Really cool story, I think, centered around the Mint. So one of the cool things — I’m not sure if you were able to take a look at it — but the pinstripes are actually a nod to the Mint. The Mint is, you know, the source of inspiration for that uniform. The gold lettering with the mint trim, just harkens back to the financial inspiration with the Mint being in Charlotte.
Heat City Edition jersey” width=”1022″ height=”1024″ /> Photo courtesy of the NBA.
And the last one, I heard you talking about the Heat jersey. Can you kind of walk me through that one, especially the rope on the side. That seems to be a really cool detail.
So if you’ve ever turned on a game for the Heat, you’ll see that there’s actual yellow rope that surround the cord. They use the yellow piping to be able to be inspired by that yellow rope that you will see during the game. Their concept is kind of their chapter two of their mashup that they introduced last year.
This year, they flipped the color to white and then they took different components from previous iconic elements of their identity and mash those up together to be able to have this customized look. So you’ll see elements of their Floridians, their white hot, vice versa. All those different kinds of stamps in time that have made up the Heat organization, all mashed up into one uniform.
(All photos courtesy of the NBA)
Ranking all 32 NHL Reverse Retro jerseys for 2022-23
The NHL’s Reverse Retro jerseys were a sensation two years ago, creating significant sales and conversation among hockey fans. Adidas felt the pressure of creating a sequel to that blockbuster with its 2022-23 season retro sweaters.
“How many amazing remix combinations are out there?” said Dan Near, senior director at adidas hockey. “We spent a lot of time debating about whether the franchise should evolve into something else or is this a sequel. We went with the latter.”
Like any sequel, there are a few differences from the original. The 32 new Reverse Retro jerseys feature more white sweaters than the 2020 collection. Please recall that because of the COVID pandemic, the 2020-21 season was played without interdivisional games. Now, Adidas hopes to see more retro vs. retro games, such as the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Buffalo Sabres game on Nov. 2.
This line also features more embroidered and raised elements on the team logos, which is something that arrived when adidas started making jerseys with 50% recycled materials.
Another big difference was the level of anticipation. Near said that adidas is aware of all the speculation, mock-ups and social media scuttlebutt about this collection of jerseys.
“We’re excited about the speculation. I think if you look back at the first time we launched in 2020, it came out of nowhere. Nobody knew what it was,” Near said. “We didn’t announce it was coming back this time, but people seemed to know it was coming. The rampant speculation and energy is making this unique and exciting. We track it. We see what people are saying. Sometimes they’re right on the mark. Other times they’re on a completely different planet. Nothing is official until it’s official.”
But it wasn’t just the fans anticipating the next wave of Reverse Retro jerseys. The NHL teams were as well.
“There was plenty of meat on the bone to do this again,” Near said. “What made it unique the second time around is that you have the teams thinking ‘I want to win Reverse Retro.'”
Which ones were victorious? Here is our ranking of the 32 NHL Reverse Retro jerseys for the 2022-23 season. Keep in mind that we based this just on the jerseys themselves — some really cool elements will be revealed with the full uniform kits, but they didn’t factor in here.
What a concept: It’s only taken nearly 30 years, but a team that plays in South Florida finally has a jersey that’s evocative of South Florida.
This is a mix of the team’s stick-and-palm secondary logo that’s been with it since the 1990s and the light blue from the third jerseys it rocked in 2009. The rays of the sun are slightly raised to give the crest a 3D quality. The colors on the stripes pay homage to the Panthers’ current primary colors. The rest feels like you’re staring at a frozen blue Hawaiian through a pair of expensive sunglasses.
Sure, seeing the alternate logo makes one realize how close that hockey stick looks to a golf putter … but that’s also kind of thematic to the franchise, if we’re being honest.
It was inevitable that the Sharks eventually would honor their Bay Area ancestors with a Reverse Retro jersey. The California Golden Seals’ greatest legacy might be their aesthetics, including a turn to teal 17 years before the Sharks swam into the NHL.
These are essentially the Seals’ 1974 home jerseys with “Sharks” written on them instead, and they’re sublime: a little California love, a little Jackie Moon. That Seals team won 19 games. Given what we’ve seen from San Jose this season, perhaps it’s just dressing the part.
The Youppi! of Reverse Retro jerseys.
Montreal claims this is meant to honor its 1979 look, when it won its fourth Stanley Cup in a row. Adidas claims the light blue is “inspired by the city of Montreal colors.” But for the love of Tim Raines and Larry Walker, we know what’s up with these sweaters: It’s the Habs as the Montreal Expos, and we salute them like Andrés Galarraga admiring a home run.
The most remarkable thing about this Reverse Retro Kings jersey, which honors the 40th anniversary of the “Miracle on Manchester,” is that one swears that it has previously existed. But the crown logo in the 1980s was on either a gold or “Forum Blue” jersey.
This is the first time the iconic sweater has been executed in white, and it looks awesome. Bonus points for creating raised gems on the crown for a 3D look.
The Avalanche topped the 2020 rankings with their ode to the Quebec Nordiques. This year’s model could be seen as a homage to the NHL’s Colorado Rockies, but their logo inspiration was the same as this Retro jersey: the Colorado state flag.
Nothing is going to top the remixed Nords sweater. But this looks clean and sharp, and like other Avalanche alternate logos is an improvement over their primary one.
The Golden Knights had a Reverse Retro jersey last year inspired by the now-defunct Wranglers minor league franchise. This time, they’re inspired by a team that doesn’t exist.
This sweater “imagines what a Golden Knights third jersey might have looked like in 1995.” The font and numbering are inspired by vintage hotel signage on the Strip. Oh, and just to make sure you get the full Vegas ostentatiousness: There are hidden glow-in-the-dark stars incorporated in the crest that can be seen in the dark and under a black light.
“When you think about the glitz and glamor of Vegas, it requires a little ingenuity,” Near said.
The Blues chose poorly last season, resurrecting a nauseating jersey design and inexplicably making red the primary color. This time, they understood the assignment.
The Blues’ Reverse Retro is based on a 1966 prototype worn by the team’s ownership a year before the expansion franchise actually hit the ice, which is like giving an Oscar to a teaser trailer. Despite being their second most prominent color, this is the first primarily gold jersey the Blues have worn. It incorporates the light blue seen on their Winter Classic jerseys.
Sound the trumpets: These rule.
This is the most “meta” Reverse Retro jersey in the collection.
In 2020, the Coyotes honored their much-maligned 1998 thirds that magnifying the head of the “kachina jersey” logo, made green the primary color and ceded the waistline to “a painfully obvious desert landscape complete with cacti,” as the Five For Howling blog noted. Their first Reverse Retro jersey swapped the green for purple from the team’s crescent moon alternate logo, and it was one of the best of the lot.
Now they’ve gone Reverse Retro on their Reverse Retro, swapping out the green for sienna, marking “the first time this trending earth tone color has been worn by any NHL team,” according to Adidas. The million dollar question: Are these supposed to abstractly evoke Arizona State athletics colors or is this simply coincidental?
The Pooh bear has returned!
The Bruins wore this logo from 1995-2006 on a third sweater. The blog Stanley Cup of Chowder called it “the greatest jersey in Bruins history.” The Pooh bear was originally featured on a gold jersey. This time it’s a white background, all the better to see the kind eyes, parted hair and Marchand-esque smirk on the bear’s fuzzy mug. Put one on and snuggle up with a pot of honey.
I once asked comics artist Todd McFarlane about creating this logo, which Edmonton used as a third jersey from 2001 through 2007.
“What’s the design I could do that could pay homage to the Oilers but also just be cool to look at?” he pondered. “Selling it to someone in Edmonton is preaching to the choir. How do I sell it to someone in Miami?”
We’re not sure how it played in Florida, but its initial run in Edmonton wasn’t unanimously beloved. But this version might be an improvement.
His “dynamic gear surrounding an oil drop” logo has been enhanced by being raised in some areas and with that splash of orange in the middle. Each spoke represents a different Oilers Stanley Cup championship, and sadly that hasn’t needed to be edited since it debuted in 2001.
The Islanders have slowly reclaimed the ill-fated legacy of the “Fishsticks” logo that reigned from 1995-97, selling gear with that logo and color scheme in their official store in recent years.
For the team’s 50th anniversary, Adidas has added “the most requested uniform” for its Reverse Retro series.
Here’s the thing: The slight modifications they’ve made to the logo — like the TRON-esque orange highlights and the current color scheme — tone down the kitsch and the charm. One could argue the original Fishsticks jersey’s Aquafresh palette and queasy waves are more in keeping with the Reverse Retro aesthetic.
There’s an interesting separation between Canucks fans and outsiders when it comes to this Reverse Retro jersey. It’s inspired by their Western Hockey League look that featured Johnny Canuck, only this one has raised embroidered gloves and suspenders.
But the Canucks Army blog notes that Vancouver fans (a) feel this look to too close to that of the Abbotsford Canucks, who also use Johnny Canuck, and (b) were hoping for a less predictable experiment like “a green and blue edition of the Flying Vee or Flying Skate jerseys.”
In 1995, the Capitals went from red, white and blue to blue, black and bronze. They had a black third jersey for 10 years during that fad, with the capitol dome logo seen on the shoulders of this Reverse Retro jersey.
Now they’ve turned the “Screaming Eagle” into another black alternate sweater, with some really nice tweaks to the formula. This jersey features metallic copper and “Capital Blue,” giving the whole thing a sleeker look.
You can’t improve on perfection, which is why the Red Wings’ first Reverse Retro attempt looked like a practice version of their iconic sweater. But give the Red Wings credit for taking a swing with version 2.0.
An homage to their 1991 NHL 75th anniversary jerseys, which were red and white, this bold red and black look is accented by a DETROIT wordmark inspired by the 1920s Detroit Cougars. For a young team developing its swagger, we’ll allow it.
This Ducks jersey is cool. It’s clean looking. It’s got the proper logo on the front. They’re going to slap “ZEGRAS” on the back of these and move racks of them.
But after much debate inside the ESPN fashion offices, we came to a consensus: If Anaheim is dipping back to the inaugural Mighty Ducks season and their Reverse Retro doesn’t have even a hint of jade or eggplant, then what are they even doing this for?
The Rangers finished No. 2 on the 2020 rankings by simply bringing back to the Liberty Head logo for the first time since around 2007. They went back to that well for this Reverse Retro jersey, slapping it on a royal blue jersey with red sleeves.
The whole thing honestly feels like one of those sweatshirts that costs $50 more than it should, and hangs untouched with its friends in some distant corner of the NHL Store.
ROBO PENGUIN! Memories of Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Petr Nedved come rushing back as we celebrate the majesty of this flightless fowl.
But we had to award some demerits for what could have been: This is the Penguins’ 1992-93 jersey flipped from white to black, leaving out some of the more audacious Robo Penguin gradient designs from the latter part of the decade. It’s a jersey that thinks the 1990s stopped with grunge, when “Bills, Bills, Bills” actually dropped in 1999.
The most interesting aspect of this Stars jersey, which is a homage to their inaugural season look back in 1993-94, is the dimensional embroidery on the crest to give the star a 3D quality.
Otherwise, the current “victory green” color integrated with this classic design makes for a fine looking sweater. But we’re now two Reverse Retro jerseys deep and the “Mooterus” has yet to return, so we really can’t go any higher than this for Dallas.
The Jets’ first Reverse Retro jersey was one of our favorites, but this one isn’t nearly as bold.
Winnipeg remixed the Jets 1.0 jersey from 1990 with the team’s current color palette, minus the red. A great sweater for Teemu Selanne completists but one that doesn’t come close to the streetwear grandeur of the previous Retro hit.
More debate inside the ESPN fashion offices on this one.
The Devils pay tribute to the Colorado Rockies 40 years after the team relocated from Denver to East Rutherford. It’s certainly a fun look, with the Rockies’ gold, red and navy accenting the jersey. But we’re a little disappointed that the color scheme only carries through to the logo via a blue circle around the “NJ,” when this could have been a fun opportunity to play around with that logo.
As it stands, this sorta looks like when a pro shop irons the right crest on the wrong jersey.
“Say kids, did you like the Minnesota North Stars-influenced Reverse Retro jersey? What if we told you that it’s now available in … green?”
Seriously, no points for creativity, but these remain pretty dope.
Inspired by Chicago’s 1938 uniforms and their 2019 Winter Classic gear, this Blackhawks jersey had the unfortunate timing of being immediately market-corrected by a similar — but much better executed — Red Wings Reverse Retro.
Sorry, but this just doesn’t work. The “goat head” logo loses its magic when stripped away from the red, black and silver color scheme that evoked images of Dominik Hasek saves and Miroslav Satan goals.
Outside of the nostalgic kick of having this logo back on a Buffalo sweater, applying the traditional Sabres colors to it feels slightly blasphemous.
What’s a nostalgic Kraken jersey? A Mark Giordano sweater?
Obviously lacking history, Seattle just decided to make a sea green jersey that makes it look like they’re wearing a cummerbund under their own logo. It’s not a bad looking sweater. It’s just not as audacious one might expect from a team nicknamed after a mythical sea creature. It’s a Reverse Retro with real “why don’t we make our mascot a troll doll?” energy.
Missed opportunity here. There was speculation that the Predators were going to put their 2001 third jersey logo on a navy jersey, which would have properly remixed their mustard stain sweater with a currently used color.
Alas, they went with gold, making this jersey practically redundant with their current ones.
It’s their current away jersey remixed into a red sweater, with two sets of hurricane warning flags on the shoulders.
Your mileage here is entirely dependent one how you feel about nicknames on jerseys instead of full nicknames.
Adidas says this is a remix of the jersey the Senators wore during their 2006-07 Stanley Cup Final run with “the current Ottawa color scheme and breakouts.”
Sure. It’s very much an Ottawa Senators jersey. But we’ll wait and see the full kit, as Adidas notes these Ottawa jerseys will be “presented in a powerful black head-to-toe visual including the helmet, pant and sock complimented by a thick super-sized player name and number system.”
The Blue Jackets got a little funky last time with a primary red jersey that sported their original logo. This is the first black jersey the Jackets will have worn, with blue sleeve accents that evoke their current third sweaters.
These FrankenJerseys are on the borderline of looking like a stitching accident, but in the end we like our jerseys like we like our steaks: black and blue. But maybe not as cold.
Toronto is honoring its 1962 Stanley Cup championship, remixing a primary white jersey into a primary blue jersey with white shoulder pads.
A blue Maple Leafs jersey. Wild stuff. Save us, Justin Bieber.
Have you ever seen a movie where one bad performance ruins the whole thing? The Flames have a cool black jersey, with an iconic logo and an eye-catching color scheme.
They also decided to bring back to truly bizarre “diagonal pedestal hem stripe” from their mid-1990s sweaters.
It just ruins the whole thing and makes it look like the Flames are wearing an achievement belt from a strip mall taekwondo academy.
“I don’t want my guys looking like a [expletive] crayon box. I don’t want them wearing a bunch of whozies and whats-its. Just make a Flyers jersey. Who cares?” — John Tortorella, maybe.
Nostalgia can be comforting. Nostalgia can be inspiring. But nostalgia can also cloud one’s judgement on what should or should not be mined from the past for the benefit of the present.
To that end: These Lightning jerseys should have remained buried under whatever landfill in which they were decomposing. Tampa Bay wore these jerseys from 1996-99, during a time when the NHL had its share of ghastly third jerseys. They had storm waves across the waist; lightning bolts on the sleeves, and in perhaps the single worst aesthetic touch for an NHL jersey in the last 30 years, “bold rain” flecked across the front of the sweater that looked like it was taken straight from an 8-bit video game.
Whatever Lightning player feigns excitement the most for these monstrosities should win the Lady Byng, full stop.
Dan Near of adidas offers a brief rebuttal about this jersey: “There were some jerseys from that era that we presented and the teams weren’t excited about. There were others that the teams embraced right away. This isn’t a permanent choice. This is a celebration of a moment in time and the nostalgia about a team. Maybe we don’t have to take ourselves so seriously and bring something back that might have been polarizing but that in today’s day and age is very trend-right. I give a lot of acclaim to the Lightning for making a risk well worth taking.”
A United Airlines flight made an emergency landing at New Jersey’s Newark airport after circling over the Atlantic
CNN
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A mechanical problem on a United Airlines flight prompted an emergency landing early Thursday at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport.
“After our aircraft experienced a mechanical issue shortly after takeoff, it remained in the air to burn fuel and then landed safely,” United said in a statement. “Passengers deplaned at the gate and a new aircraft is scheduled to depart this morning.”
An initial maintenance inspection suggests an issue with a hydraulic pump on the aircraft, which had 256 passengers on board for the flight, United Airlines said.
Sparks flew off the plane as it climbed after takeoff, according to a video posted online that purports to show the flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating what happened with Flight 149, which departed Newark airport late Wednesday night, then declared an emergency. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft had been headed to Sao Paulo, Brazil, before returning to Newark, the FAA said.
The hydraulic system on the Boeing 777 runs key systems, such as the landing gear, flaps and brakes. There are three redundant hydraulic systems on the plane, meaning two can fail and the airplane can still operate normally.
The flight circled over the Atlantic Ocean to burn fuel before returning to the airport about two hours after departure, flight tracking data shows.
CNN has reached out to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for comment.
Republican Ed Durr will defeat New Jersey’s Senate president, CNN projects
CNN projected Friday that Durr, who spent two decades as a commercial truck driver and decided to run for the seat when he was denied a concealed carry permit for a gun, will defeat longtime state Senate President Steve Sweeney.
Sweeney, the longest-tenured state Senate leader in New Jersey history, had been considered the favorite to win the South Jersey seat he was first elected to in 2001.
His ouster at the hands of a Republican who, along with the two other GOP candidates on his slate, spent — as of 11 days before the election — fewer than $2,500, underscores the depth of the Election Day voter revolt against leading Democrats. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who was expected to easily win a second term, squeaked by his GOP challenger, Jack Ciattarelli, by only about two percentage points.
Asked during a Fox News interview the night after the election what his priority was when he arrived at the state Capitol, Durr promised to be a “voice for the people,” but was short on specifics.
“I really don’t know. That’s the key factor. I don’t know what I don’t know, so I will learn what I need to know,” Durr said. “I’m going to guarantee you one thing: I will be the voice, and people will hear me, because if there’s one thing people will learn about me, I’ve got a big mouth.”
Controversial tweets
The Republican has already been asked to account for old tweets that were uncovered by news outlets, including CNN.
CNN obtained cached and archived copies of tweets from Durr in which he indicates support for QAnon and expresses Islamophobia.
In one tweet from 2019, Durr referred to the Prophet Muhammad as a “pedophile” and Islam as “a false religion” and “a cult of hate.”
In another tweet published in the summer of 2020, Durr wrote to another Twitter user using the hashtag “WWG1WGA,” a well-known QAnon phrase that means, “Where we go one, we go all.”
Durr also expressed xenophobic ideas, tweeting in 2018 that Murphy should “stop pushing #sanctuary state & inviting #illegals to our state.” He added the hashtags “#BuildTheWall,” “#NoIllegals” and “#MAGA.” CNN also unearthed a tweet from Durr at the state’s first lady, Tammy Murphy, calling Covid-19 the “China virus” and blaming the “influx of #IllegalAliens” for “the return of diseases.”
In response to an online article about police being directed to use correct pronouns for transgender people, he tweeted, “Not enough that police must deal with all the issues with criminals, now they must watch what pronouns they used. Intelligence has no place in Trenton!”
Durr also denied climate change in a tweet, saying, “1st there is no climate crisis, climate change its call seasons.” He called Planned Parenthood “murderers” in the same tweet.
Durr’s Twitter account has since been deleted. CNN has contacted Durr and Twitter for comment.
In a statement to CNN affiliate KYW, the Republican apologized for his previous Islamophobic comments.
“I’m a passionate guy and I sometimes say things in the heat of the moment. If I said things in the past that hurt anybody’s feelings, I sincerely apologize. I support everybody’s right to worship in any manner they choose and to worship the God of their choice. I support all people and I support everybody’s rights. That’s what I am here to do, work for the people and support their rights.”
It is not clear if he was asked about the other offensive posts.
Durr, who CNN has not been able to reach directly, agreed to meet with Muslim community leaders from his district and representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations next week, Selaedin Maksut, executive director of the organization’s New Jersey chapter, told CNN on Friday.
Durr’s statement apologizing for his Islamophobic tweets prompted the council to urge him to “meet with Muslim leaders and fully repudiate his comments and address the concerns of the Muslim community.”
“This ‘apology’ fails to address the issues with Mr. Durr’s bigoted, anti-Muslim statements. We urge him to meet with Muslim leaders and fully repudiate his comments and address the concerns of the Muslim community,” the national organization tweeted.
No concession from Sweeney
Durr in his campaign video cast Sweeney as a rubber stamp for Murphy, saying he “sat by and watched” as Murphy mishandled the Covid-19 pandemic. Durr also criticized the state’s tax policies, a staple of Ciattarelli’s campaign message.
“The Senate President has spent 20 years in Trenton,” Durr says in the clip, which begins with him exiting the cab of a truck and ends with him riding off on a motorcycle. “Higher taxes, increasing debt and rising cost of living — we deserve better. New Jersey, it’s time for a change. So together, let’s end single-party rule.”
Sweeney, who has beaten back better-organized, heavily funded challengers in the past, has not yet conceded the race.
Despite the Republican’s surprise victory, New Jersey’s legislature will remain under Democratic control. But the backlash in New Jersey and Virginia, where Democrats lost the governor’s mansion and full control of the House of Delegates, has sent shockwaves across the country.
Democrats already expecting a challenging 2022 midterm election season are now scrambling to draw up a message to protect the party’s fragile congressional majorities.
This story has been updated with additional reporting Friday.
CNN’s Jennifier Agiesta and Chris Cillizza contributed to this report.