 He was credited with uniting party factions after Troast lost in a landslide to Robert B. Meyner, as well as bringing the party together to support the nomination of Clifford P. Case for United States Senate in 1954.In 1957 Republican gubernatorial nominee Malcolm Forbes sought to remove him from the party chairmanship, but Forbes backed down from this move after Bodine was given strong support from county chairmen and he was reelected.He died of a heart ailment the following year at Point Pleasant Hospital at the age of 58.