The First State’s Governor's race this year could look just like 2016.
After a lopsided loss to now Gov. John Carney in 2016, Republican State Sen. Colin Bonini is throwing his hat in the ring for a second time.
Carney won his first term in a landslide, defeating Bonini by 19 percentage points.
He says he’s running again because he’s concerned where Delaware seems to be headed.
“If you look at our economy, if you look at, obviously, the current civil disruptions, if you look at how our public schools are doing and educating our children," he says. "If you look at, just to be blunt, crime in Wilmington. You know, everywhere you look, Delaware could be doing a heck of a lot better.”
But Bonini says this time he wants to make the case that Carney has handled the coronavirus outbreak all wrong.
“We need to change our sort of fundamental perspective. And I think the perspective has been we need to close and you gotta show me evidence why we shouldn't be shutting everything down," he says. "And I think the fundamental perspective needs to turn the other way which says no, we need to let people get back to their lives, you need to show me evidence why we shouldn’t do that.”
Bonini says this as cases of COVID-19 in the United States are on the rise.
Delaware has seen a slight increase in cases over the past 5 days, but not nearly as large of a spike as in states such as Arizona or Texas. Still, Carney is delaying a move to Phase 3 of reopening.
But Bonini first need to survive September’s GOP primary where he faces fellow State Senator, Bryant Richardson, business owners Neal Shea and David Bosco as well as Seaford attorney Julianne Murray.
The voters will decide who Carney’s opponent will be in that September 15th primary.
Roman Battaglia is a corps member withReport for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.
