Ed Durr says he’s open to taking on Cory Booker in 2026

Former State Sen. Ed Durr (R-Logan), the Republican truck driver who briefly became a GOP hero when he unseated New Jersey’s Democratic State Senate president in 2021, is keeping his options open for his political future – including a possible campaign for U.S. Senate against Cory Booker in 2026.

Durr, a staunch conservative who ran for governor this year but ended his campaign in March after it failed to catch on among GOP voters and donors, told the New Jersey Globe this afternoon that while he’s more focused for now on this year’s state elections, he’s taking a real look at running to deny Booker a third term.

“I’ve had people ask me about it,” Durr said. “It’s definitely something that has piqued my interest. I’m talking to people. If the feeling is right, then maybe I will. [Booker] certainly needs to be challenged by somebody. He’s been a bad senator for us for a long time.”

After losing his Senate seat in 2023 amid an onslaught of Democratic spending, Durr also said that he’s potentially interested in making a comeback to the state legislature in 2027, when every Senate and Assembly seat will be up for election.

And Durr said that, depending on who is elected governor this November, he might instead seek to join a conservative gubernatorial administration. After ending his own gubernatorial campaign, Durr said he wanted radio host Bill Spadea to win the Republican nomination, though he noted today that he has no hard feelings towards Spadea’s main two Republican opponents, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Somerville) and State Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), despite having previously bashed them as “never-Trumpers.”

Durr is one of a number of Republicans who has been the subject of speculation about their 2026 plans, in the New Jersey Globe and elsewhere. A recent rundown by Brent Johnson of NJ Advance Media listed Durr as a potential Senate candidate alongside State Sen. Mike Testa (R-Vineland) – who has long been seen as having statewide ambitions – interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, and Alex Zdan, a former News12 reporter who also ran for the Senate in 2024.

If Durr does indeed run, he’d face an uphill battle to becoming a U.S. senator. New Jersey hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972, and Booker is a formidable opponent; after winning all of his previous races by double-digits regardless of national environment, Booker is heading into the 2026 cycle with $12.4 million on-hand.

And even winning a Republican primary would take a lot of effort on Durr’s part. Despite his defeat of former State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) in 2021 – a shocking result that briefly made “Ed the Trucker” one of the most famous state legislators in the country – top New Jersey Republicans reacted with a shrug to Durr’s gubernatorial campaign, and many of them would likely be wary of nominating a proudly anti-abortion, pro-gun, pro-Trump candidate for Senate.

Durr, though, said that’s exactly the problem with state Republicans. He argued that prior GOP Senate nominees like Bob Hugin in 2018, Rik Mehta in 2020, and Curtis Bashaw in 2024 were “too middle,” and that Republicans should experiment with nominating someone further to the right – perhaps someone like him.

“I would like to see a conservative win [in 2026],” Durr said. “You can’t beat vanilla with French vanilla. Well, I’m sick of putting up French Vanilla, Democrat-lite. Let’s be true to our cause and let the chips fall where they may.”