Towards the end of his tenure as mayor, Schundler served as chairman of the Hudson County Republican Committee, and in 2001, Schundler ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, facing former Congressman Bob Franks, who was favored by the party establishment. Franks entered the race in April, two months before the primary, after Governor Donald DiFrancesco dropped out of the race because of an unending series of newspaper stories highlighting ethics concerns. Franks was backed by Governor DiFrancesco's political organization, which gave him the endorsement of every county Republican committee except Schundler's in Hudson County and the Republican committee in Monmouth County led by William F. Dowd.