Senator-elect Ed Dur remained intent on making Phil Murphy – not toppled backyard South Jersey Democratic Party icon Steve Sweeney – the bad guy, as Sweeney desperately scrounges for votes to reverse tide on red wave sensation Durr.

Armed with the kingly senate scepter of LD3, yet acting like the heavy in Sweeney’s B movie about a wharf town run amok, Durr issued a scathing statement against the meddling liberal Karl Malden-like Democratic governor.

“For some reason Governor Phil Murphy has decided to show all of New Jersey how big a hypocrite he is,” Durr said. “To refer to anyone who doesn’t concede an election as dangerous disgusts me. In any election we should wait for every legal vote to be counted before a concession is offered or victory is declared. That’s exactly why I have not declared victory over Senate President Steve Sweeney and have not expected a call from him to concede.”

Murphy attempted these last few days to project public dismay over the loss of Sweeney but stopped short of telling him to tap out, while also backhanding Durr as a Twitter feed train wreck, and calling on Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli to give it up.

Ciattarelli, like Sweeney, refuses to concede.

Durr quickly got on the Sweeney-Ciattarelli line of scrimmage and cut loose with more trash talk aimed at the governor.

“Murphy has not called on Sweeney to concede, claiming he didn‘t know the math on the race. That statement is untrue given the fact our campaign consultant was quoted as saying ‘mathematically it’s over’ last week,” Durr said. “Murphy’s hypocrisy knows no bounds.”

Durr appeared intent on nationalizing the conversation, attempting to wagon hitch himself to Murphy’s own efforts to hoist himself into presidential contention. Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-3), an LD3 casualty, last week in an interview with InsiderNJ, noted the dearth of local media in the region.

“There’s no robust local news, and so people’s emotions by and large are dominated by being mad at Washington,” said the assemblyman. “You put that together with some of the pandemic politics and it was the combination of a match and kerosene energized by anger. Voters sent a message.”

Durr this morning shook the can with abandon.

“Phil Murphy is not what America is all about, he’s the dangerous guy who killed 10,000 nursing home residents and destroyed the lives of countless hardworking New Jerseyans,” the senator-elect added. “The only reason Murphy wants a concession is so he can get back to work to see how many more lives he can ruin with his lousy policies.

“My differences with Senator Sweeney are political, not personal, I’m going to wait until every legal vote is counted before I declare victory because that is what America is all about. I suggest Murphy stop being petty and do the same for Jack Ciattarelli.”