Steve Lonegan campaign tweets racially charged image at Cory Booker

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Republican Steve Lonegan’s campaign team tweeted a racially charged image, mentioning his Democratic opponent Newark mayor Cory Booker, and then quickly deleted it.

Lonegan, the former Bogota, N.J. mayor, and Booker are both in the running for a New Jersey Senate seat.

According to Politico, the tweet, sent out Monday at the beginning of the Democratic primary debate, read, “#breaking just leaked – Cory Booker’s foreign policy debate prep notes.”

Below the text was an image that showed the map of Newark. Different sections were circled and labeled, “West Africa, Portugal, Brazil and Guyana.” Another section was labeled, “Middle East” with “Afghanistan, Pakistan PLUS Bangladesh and Trinidad” underneath.

“Steve didn’t find it funny or reflective of the way he thinks and asked that it be taken down immediately,” Lonegan adviser Rick Shaftan told Politico.  “And, as you know, it was.”

Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.