To start his “Expose Cory Booker” tour, Steve Lonegan stood in front of one of this troubled city’s more rundown schools this month and attacked the mayor’s record on education. …

Then he showed up days later at the scene of a double homicide, and accused Mayor Booker of being “too busy hanging out with Oprah” and “tweeting about Winnie the Pooh” to address the city’s problems. …

Even if Mr. Lonegan were not running against a nationally known Democrat, his campaign to be the first Republican in 40 years elected to the United States Senate from New Jersey would be a long shot. But he has no intention of letting it be dull. …

Though Mr. Lonegan has taken in just $325,000 to Mr. Booker’s $8.6 million in campaign contributions, Mr. Lonegan’s campaign argues that he can take advantage of the unusual conditions of the special election — it will be held on Oct. 16, a Wednesday — to turn out a high number of conservative voters who rally passionately to his message.