| Colin Bonini | |
| State Senate: | Delaware |
| District: | 16th |
| Term Start: | November 9, 1994 |
| Term End: | November 9, 2022 |
| Predecessor: | William Torbert |
| Successor: | Eric Buckson |
| Birth Name: | Colin Rafferty Marie Jude Bonini |
| Birth Date: | 14 April 1965 |
| Birth Place: | Stanford, California, U.S. |
| Party: | Republican |
| Education: | Wesley College (BA) University of Delaware (MPA) |
Colin Rafferty Marie Jude Bonini (born April 14, 1965) is an American politician and a Republican former member of the Delaware Senate, where he represented the 16th District from 1994 to 2022.
Bonini received his Bachelor of Arts from Wesley College in 1991. He received a Master of Public Administration from the University of Delaware in 1999.[1] [2] While in college, he worked for United States Senator Bill Roth and the United States Department of State in New Delhi, India.[3]
He was elected in 1994 to represent the 16th District in the Delaware Senate.[4] The district covers part of southern and eastern Kent County along with a small portion of adjacent Sussex County. It includes the southern portions of Dover around the Dover Air Force Base and the towns of Frederica and Harrington.[5] [6] In 2010, Bonini unsuccessfully ran for state treasurer, losing to Democrat Chip Flowers. Flowers received 51 percent of the vote to defeat Bonini by 6,121 votes.[7]
Shortly after the 2014 elections, Bonini announced he would run for governor in the 2016 election to fix "significant systemic and fundamental problems" in the state.[8] [9] Bonini competed with former state trooper Lacey Lafferty in the Republican primary election, which he won with 70% of the vote.[10] He lost to U.S. Congressman John Carney in the general election, garnering less than 40% of the vote.[11] In 2020, Bonini again tried to run for governor but lost in the Republican primary to Julianne Murray, earning less than 35% of the vote.[12] [13] On September 13, 2022, Bonini was defeated in the Republican primary, finishing last place in a 3-way race.[14] [15]
In 2024, Bonini announced he was running for the Kent County Register of Wills in 2024.[16] [17] [18] He won in the Republican primary elections for Kent County register of wills, defeating Susanne Whitney of Magnolia with 59.26% of the vote, 4,210 to 2,894. He received 3,431 machine votes, 523 early votes and 256 absentee votes.[19]