[8] Contextually, he joined the Italian Communist Party (PCI), for which he became municipal assessor in the town of Campogaliano, where he lived.

[17] On 28 September, Bonaccini won the centre-left primary election to become the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, with 60.9% of the votes against the former mayor of Forlì, Roberto Balzani.

Above all, we need an autonomy to strengthen investment planning, to streamline and simplify procedures, to make our services for citizens and businesses even more efficient and effective.

[33] The centre-right proposed Senator Lucia Borgonzoni, member of the League (Lega) and former undersecretary to cultural activities in Giuseppe Conte's first government.

[35] During the campaign, Bonaccini claimed the results achieved by his administration (including the "Pact for Labour" of 2015),[36] and proposed four priority points summed up into the slogan "A step forward": to create free kindergartens for all children in the region, to break down the waiting lists for health interventions and access times to first aid, to carry out preventive maintenance and safety of the regional territory, and to reduce the phenomenon of NEET.

[37] The electoral campaign was characterized by a massive presence of the League's leader, Matteo Salvini, who aimed to win in Emilia-Romagna to tear down the government.

[41] The centre-left alliance scored particularly well in Bologna, Modena, Reggio Emilia and Ravenna, where Bonaccini approached or even overcame the 60% of votes.

On 4 March, when Emilia-Romagna's regional minister of health, Raffaele Donini, was declared positive for COVID-19,[43] Governor Bonaccini appointed Sergio Venturi as Extraordinary Commissioner for the emergency.

[45] On 9 March 2020, the government of Italy under Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte imposed a national quarantine, restricting the movement of the population except for necessity, work, and health circumstances in the whole country.

[51] In March 2021, when his region was heavily hit by a third wave of the pandemic, Bonaccini imposed red zones in the provinces of Bologna, Modena and in many municipalities through Romagna.

On 21 and 22 July, during a two-days convention in Cesena, Bonaccini launched his own political faction, named People's Energy, from the slogan chosen for the leadership election.

[63][64] Bonaccini's request to be named extraordinary commissioner to manage the relief funds,[65] as was custom among regional presidents in Italy,[66][67] was opposed by the Meloni government, in particular by Brothers of Italy and Lega;[68][69] some regional presidents of the centre-right coalition, such as Roberto Occhiuto, Giovanni Toti, and Luca Zaia, sided with Bonaccini.

[70] On 7 June, Meloni hosted a meeting with Bonaccini and other administrators from the affected areas, stating that the emergency would be temporarily managed by an operative table between the national government and local institutions led by Nello Musumeci, the Minister for Civil Protection and Maritime Policies.

[67][71] After weeks of tension within the government and between majority and opposition parties,[67][68][70] the Meloni cabinet officially appointed army corps general Francesco Paolo Figliuolo as Extraordinary Commissioner for the Reconstruction on 27 June 2023.

[72][73][74] In 2024, Bonaccini ran in the European Parliament election as PD's top candidate in the North East Italy constiituency.

[76] After his resignation, Vice President Irene Priolo acceded to the office as a caretaker and new regional elections would be held on 17 November.

They met the first time during a meeting between Modena's city council, of which Bonaccini served as assessor, and local business owners.