Jacob Ogles
Moms for Liberty chapter Chair Yvette Benarroch has won the Republican nomination in House District 81 after beating Marco Island City Councilman Greg Folley.
Election results in Collier County show Benarroch secured 56% of the vote to Folley’s 44%. Benarroch now faces Democrat Chuck Work in the General Election, but the Republican will be the heavy favorite to succeed GOP state Rep. Bob Rommel in the open House seat.
The two Republican candidates both filed as candidates more than a year ago. Benarroch jumped into the fray first, after consulting with Republican candidates she helped elect to office as a campaign volunteer. The Collier County political leader 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, backed Benarroch’s House campaign.
But Folley brought 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 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.
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. 15 spent $438,000 from his official campaign, then made a near-$104,000 advertising blast in the next two weeks. His Friends of Greg Folley political committee burned through another $438,000. Benarroch, though, hasn’t slouched on fundraising, with her campaign through Aug. 15 also spending more than $168,000, while Friends of Yvette Benarroch spent another $17,000.
A look at the endorsements also shows 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 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. Folley also announced the backing of Collier County Commission Chair Chris Hall.
The newly minted Republican nominee now faces Work, a Naples Democrat who previously served in Republican President Ronald Reagan’s administration. But the Republican Primary likely drew far more attention than the November race will in the deep-red district.
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.
