[11][12] After Republicans won a majority of seats in the 1991 election, DiFrancesco used a similar strategy and beat the sitting Minority Leader, John H. Dorsey, to win the Senate presidency.

[13] DiFrancesco, a state senator representing the Scotch Plains area, became acting governor when fellow Republican Christine Todd Whitman resigned from office to join the administration of newly elected President George W. Bush.

At the time of Whitman's resignation, the New Jersey Constitution stipulated that the Senate president retains that position while also serving as acting governor.

[15] DiFrancesco abruptly withdrew from the race in April 2001 after a number of unfavorable news stories emerged concerning his past legal and business dealings.

A report in The New York Times suggested that the media criticism took a heavy toll on DiFrancesco, who had never before been subjected to the intense scrutiny of a statewide campaign, and his family, ultimately prompting his withdrawal.

[17] The New York Times also reported that in 1996, a prominent builder in New Jersey aided DiFrancesco by providing him with $225,000, to pay off an outstanding legal judgment.

[18] In 2001, while serving as Acting Governor, DiFrancesco's nominee for New Jersey Treasurer withdrew from consideration after reports emerged that she was fired from Citibank after being confronted with evidence that she had used her expense account to pay for thousands of dollars' worth of personal trips while having an extramarital affair with a co-worker in California.

[20] In 2011, DiFrancesco settled with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, a fine of $5800 for $4650 after returning the excess amounts of two illegal campaign contributions.