Some South Jersey GOP candidates disavow Durr

Six Republican legislative candidates from South Jersey today distanced themselves from State Sen. Edwards Durr (R-Longan), calling past social media posts about women “offensive and unacceptable.”

“They don’t represent us or what we believe in any way,” said State Senate candidates Latham Tiver and Christopher Del Borrello, Assemblymen Michael Torrissi, Jr. (R-Hammonton) and  Brandon Umba (R-Medford), and Assembly candidates Matt Walker and Amanda Esposito in a statement provided to the New Jersey Globe.

The candidates in the 4th and 8th districts say the network and TV ads being run by a new 527 group with ties to South Jersey Democrats, Brighter Future Forward, are ‘fraudulent’ because they seek to tie them to social media posts made or liked by Durr that have nothing to do with them other than sharing a political party.

“While we have diverse personal opinions on the issue, none of us support banning abortions outright.  None of us favor laws that would criminalize abortion.  None of us believe in restricting access to abortion for victims of rape or incest, or in case of a serious health risk,” the six candidates said.

The six also clarified their positions on an issue Democrats view as decisive in their bid to pick up legislative seats.

“We do oppose late-term abortion, while state Democrats have embraced an extreme new state law that expands abortion access up to the moment of birth,” they said.  “We do support parental notification, while Democrats believe that a 15-year-old girl should need parental consent to get her ears pierced but are fine keeping her parents in the dark if she wants an abortion.  That’s insane.”

Formed in June, Brighter Future Forward purchased $530,000 in TV ads tying Durr’s comments on abortion to Republicans running in other South Jersey districts.  Because the ads did not begin running until Monday, the group dexterously avoided filing a 29-day pre-election report. As a result, the public will not see donors until November 2, when it might be too late for the group’s funding sources to reach voters.

Still, the new 527 appears to be acting in accordance with legal requirements.