Bonker ran for Washington Secretary of State in 1972, but was defeated by incumbent Republican Lud Kramer.

He also served on the President's Export Council and headed former House Speaker Tip O'Neill's Trade Task Force, which led to passage of the Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act.

In 2000, he ran for Secretary of State again, winning the party nomination in the primary, but losing in the general to Sam Reed.

His monthly column on trade policy appeared in a number of newspapers around the country.

[3][4][5] Bonker was diagnosed with liver cancer in May 2023, and died at the hospital Silverdale, Washington, on May 30.