After winning the primary, Schundler tried to reunite the party by reaching out to the figures who had endorsed Franks. This included having a unity lunch with Franks which was hosted by former governor Tom Kean, and retaining State Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos as state party chairman. Kyrillos had been appointed by DiFrancesco as state party chairman six weeks before the primary, and he had supported Franks in the primary. However, the party remained split. The Democratic candidate, Woodbridge Township Mayor Jim McGreevey (the unsuccessful Democratic candidate in 1997), exploited this division by painting Schundler as too conservative for New Jersey. Schundler made frequent campaign appearances on the late Bob Grant's radio show to help bring voters out on election day. Schudler travelled to Israel as part of campaign to court the Jewish vote, and while there, the historic September 11 attack on the World Trade Center happened. The attack caused most air traffic in the US to be shut down for weeks, leaving Shundler stranded in Israel less than a month before the election. In the November election, Schundler was badly defeated, gaining 42% of the vote to McGreevey's 56%. Schundler even lost Hudson County by 50,000 votes.