A Republican political newcomer who ousted longtime New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney in the election has apologized for offensive social media posts.

In some since-deleted social media posts, Edward Durr, a truck driver for Raymour & Flanigan, called Islam “a false religion,” compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust and defended rioters at the Capitol.

Durr issued a statement to the New Jersey Globe, saying, "I'm a passionate guy and I sometimes say things in the heat of the moment.”

The statement continued, "If I said things in the past that hurt anybody's feelings, I sincerely apologize."

Media outlets found the posts from Durr on Twitter and Facebook on Thursday and Friday, though by Friday, his Twitter account was no longer visible.

The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Durr to meet with Muslim community leaders. The organizations called Durr’s posts “wildly incendiary.”