Yvette Benarroch builds political network with backing of AFP, Byron Donalds

Yvette Benarroch. Image via campaign.

With support from her local Congressman and campaign experience boosting Donald Trump, Marco Island Republican Yvette Benarroch feels politically confident.

While she trails GOP Primary opponent Greg Folley in fundraising, Benarroch feels her political activity will matter more to voters in House District 81.

“My campaign was never about money,” she said. “He has money in his chest, I have a big heart in mine.”

Benarroch, a native of Puerto Rico, said she moved to Naples 20 years ago with few resources in her pocket, but has built a life of joy there, meeting her husband and raising a family. The Air Force veteran and co-owner of Affordable Landscaping Service & Design became involved in politics in 2018, drawn by education concerns.

“I wanted my children and future generations to also have the opportunity to have the American dream,” she said.

She ended up working for then-state Rep. Byron Donalds’ re-election campaign to the Legislature, and continued supporting the Naples Republican through his 2020 election to Congress, one of the most heated Republican Primaries in Florida that year.

When she started to consider running for office herself, she spoke to Donalds and his wife, former Collier County School Board member Erika Donalds. Both endorsed her campaign.

“Congressman Donalds said I was the best for the job, and he’d give me his full support,” Benarroch said.

The Donalds’ backing may be her most important endorsement in a Naples area race, but it’s not her only one. She has the support of state Sen. Jonathan Martin, a Fort Myers Republican, and also landed endorsements from Republican U.S. Reps. Brian Mast, Cory Mills and Michael Waltz, all veterans who have supported experienced military members to run for office.

She also landed an endorsement earlier this month from Americans for Prosperity (AFP), which backed the candidate in an announcement primarily of incumbent lawmakers who had AFP support for years. The Fraternal Order of Police also has backed the first-time candidate.

Benarroch also has been heavily involved in political advocacy groups that don’t issue endorsements but offer some conservative credibility to the candidate. She’s the Chair of the local chapter of Moms for Liberty, a parental rights group that has grown its political influence significantly in just a few years. She also serves as first vice president of the Florida Federation of Republican Women.

Much of her support comes from supporters of school choice, and Benarroch is an ardent booster of giving more ways for parents to control their child’s education.

“Every child learns different,” said Benarroch, who substitute teaches at Marco Island Charter Middle School. “I see kids who are struggling. And I see how children are graduating high school without actually being able to read or write at the rate they should. We need to catch those early.”

But she also firmly believes parents should drive educational decisions about their own children, including where they enroll, and should have a voice on curriculum.

“Our children belong to their parents,” she said. “When we drop them off, we are not transferring that right to the school. They still belong to us.”

Something that could be especially important as the Presidential Election unfolds, Benarroch in 2020 was active in Latinos for Trump, a Hispanic outreach coalition that helped the Republican nominee win Florida’s electoral votes in 2016 and 2020. This year, she’s part of the 2024 Trump campaign’s Latino Americans for Trump Coalition.

And incidentally, she does have money, if not as much as Folley, to run a serious campaign. Through June 14, her campaign reported raising more than $97,000, on top of a $46,000 candidate loan, and closed the period with $94,000 cash on hand. Her Friends of Yvette Benarroch political committee has raised another $15,700.

By comparison, Folley’s campaign has raised almost $136,000, and he’s put in nearly $326,000 out of pocket as well. The candidate closed the last period with almost $168,000 in the bank. Friends of Greg Folley had about $158,000 available on top of that.

But Benarroch believes she has the resources to get word about her campaign and the political organization needed to win the Aug. 20 Republican Primary. The winner will face Democrat Chuck Work in November in the heavily Republican district.