Jeff Bell in The Wall Street Journal

On Budget & Economy: Fed's zero interest rate policy extends Great Recession

"I offered an answer to that problem," he added. At the center of the economy's lackluster recovery, he said, is the Federal Reserve's zero interest rate policy, which he blames for the lack of job creation and for denying people the ability to save. The U.S. needs to undergo a "fundamental monetary reform," he said.

That belief is what prompted Bell to run again in the first place, he said. Since 1982, he has continued working on tax and monetary reform at a series of Washington DC-based think tanks and consultancies. "It just struck me that the whole cycle was going to go forward with no further debate on Fed policy unless I decided to come back to New Jersey and run," he said.

On Principles & Values: 1982: ran for Senate; speechwriter for Ronald Reagan

He's not wrong. After winning Tuesday night's four-way Republican primary, Bell, a former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, will now face Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, the former Newark mayor whose rise to national prominence was in part fueled by his high-volume tweeting. Booker has a whopping 1.47 million followers. Bell has 237.

His lower number isn't surprising--Bell, who is 70 years old, has been out of the game for decades. His last Senate campaign was in 1982, when he lost the Republican primary to former Rep. Millicent Fenwick. Prior to that, he ousted then-Sen. Clifford Case in New Jersey's GOP primary but lost the general election to Bill Bradley.

On Principles & Values: Wife wept upon hearing he would run for Senate

Bell acknowledges that he faces an uphill battle against Booker, in part due to Booker's hefty financial advantage. Booker has $2.9 million in the bank, compared with Bell's $3,976. Still, Bell said, "This was a cause campaign," he said. "So far, at least it's alive."