Byron Donalds touts Yvette Benarroch for HD 81 in the Republican’s first TV ad

Byron Donalds, Yvette Benarroch. Screenshot via YouTube.

In an ad airing in Southwest Florida, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds is boosting his favored candidate for a state House seat.

Donalds speaks directly to the camera as he endorses House District 81 candidate Yvette Benarroch. Sitting in front of a stone fireplace, the Naples Republican touts the education activist.

“I’m here to talk about Yvette Benarroch,” Donalds says. “She’s a mom, a veteran, and a business owner. She’s not a politician.”

The ad, entitled “Trusted Conservative,” hit television airwaves in the Southwest Florida market on Friday.

The support comes as no surprise. Benarroch said she entered the open race for state House only after a conversation with Donalds where he promised his support.

Donalds followed through with that when he and wife Erika, a former Collier County School Board member, publicly endorsed Benarroch in November.

The Congressman in the television ad rattles off a series of policy positions he and Benarroch share.

“Yvette Benarroch will fight to stop illegal immigration, keep liberal ideology out of our schools, cut insurance rates and work to lower the cost of living,” Donalds says. “Yvette will always fight for you.”

As Donalds provides narration, images show Benarroch standing by a local veterans memorial and meeting with volunteers on the campaign trail. It later shifts to images of migrants at the border wall before putting some of Benarroch’s positions in bold type against a red background on screen.

The ad also shows Benarroch and Donalds speaking together at a kitchen table/ A final inset photo shows Benarroch shaking hands with Donalds, alongside a stamp image with the word “endorsed.”

“I’m Congressman Byron Donalds. On Aug. 20, vote Yvette Benarroch for state Representative,” Donalds tells viewers.

Benarroch leads the local chapter of Moms for Liberty in Collier County and served in the Air Force during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. She faces Marco Island City Councilman Greg Folley, who also has TV ads running in the market. The winner of the Aug. 20 Republican Primary will face Democrat Chuck Work in the General Election.