Jacob Ogles
For the better part of two years, Greg Folley poured money into marketing his Florida House candidacy. Yvette Benarroch, meanwhile, built a political network and list of endorsements.
On Tuesday, Republican voters in House District 81 will declare whose strategy pays off — and likely choose the next state Representative for Collier County.
The two Republican candidates both filed as candidates more than a year ago, months after incumbent state Rep. Bob Rommel won his final House term before term limits precluded another run.
Benarroch jumped into the fray first, after consulting with Republican candidates she has helped elect to office as a campaign volunteer. The Moms for Liberty chapter Chair in Collier County has worked for U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds’ campaigns when he still served in the Florida Legislature, and said she approached the Naples Republican for guidance before jumping into the race.
“Congressman Donalds said I was the best for the job, and he’d give me his full support,” Benarroch said. And before 2023 drew to a close, both Donalds and wife Erika, a former Collier County School Board member, had backed Benarroch’s House campaign.
But Folley brings political experience of his own. The Marco Island City Councilman jumped into the race in May 2023, and before the close of his first month as a candidate reported $430,000 in his campaign coffers. About $300,000 of that came from the retired Caterpillar executive’s pocket via a candidate loan, but he had also collected contributions reaching into six figures when counting donations to his campaign and political committee.
“I am committed to winning this race, and I believe that we will have the resources necessary for a full-fledged campaign, but we also understand that victory is impossible without a grassroots effort to mobilize voters,” Folley said then.
Resources allowed Folley to go on television early. Benarroch, meanwhile, continued a slow and steady campaign while building relationships with regional leaders.
Folley as of Aug. 2 has spent $284,000 from his official campaign, while his Friends of Greg Folley political committee burned through another $375,000. Benarroch, though, hasn’t slouched on fundraising, with her campaign through Aug. 2 also spending more than $160,000, while Friends of Yvette Benarroch spent another $3,800.
A look at the endorsements also shows that neither candidate struggled to find support. But in a reverse of the fundraising race, Benarroch drew much more prominent support.
In addition to the Donaldses, Benarroch also secured the backing of both U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, the latter of whom lives in HD 81. Folley landed the support of Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. Lawyer Brandy Alexander briefly entered the race, but quickly quit and endorsed Folley. This week, he also announced the backing of Collier County Commission Chair Chris Hall.
Will Benarroch’s networking ability outperform Folley’s sheer monetary strength on Aug. 20? That remains difficult to say, but it put her in more positive news headlines in the weeks building to the election, while Folley’s current office has sometimes had him making controversial calls in City Council hearings that risk upsetting swaths of voters.
Whoever comes out on top in the Republican Primary will face Chuck Worth, a Naples Democrat who previously served in Republican President Ronald Reagan’s administration.
But the biggest contest of the cycle will likely be the Republican Primary this month, with the GOP nominee a heavy favorite in November.
More than 71% of voters in the district favored Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ re-election in 2022, and more than 62% of voters there preferred Republican Donald Trump for President in 2020. And through July, the district served as home to more than 74,000 registered Republicans, but just over 26,000 Democrats and fewer than 31,000 no-party voters.
