Three Republicans and one Democrat are seeking to become the Representative for Florida House District 81 – a big change from 2022 when Republican Bob Rommel was the incumbent and ran unopposed.

Rommel has termed out after eight years in the post and is running for state Senate District 28.

As long as they all qualify, the three Republicans in the race will appear on the primary ballot Aug. 20. The official qualifying period for the race starts June 10 and ends June 14 (at noon). All the candidates have prefiled some paperwork, but can’t officially qualify, until the qualifying period is over.

The primary will be “closed,” or open only to registered Republicans in District 81. The winner of the primary will then face Democratic candidate Charles Work in the Nov. 5 general election, granted he qualifies.

All voters in the district, regardless of party affiliation, will be able to cast their ballots in the general election to choose between the two candidates. The top vote-getter in that election will win a two-year term.

Who’s running?

Marco Island residents Greg Folley and Gladyvette “Yvette” Benarroch each filed and have qualified to run for District 81.

Folley is a member of the Marco Island City Council. He was first appointed to the council and was elected to a full four-year term in November 2022. He served as chairman in 2023.

Folley, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and Navy veteran, is a former officer at Caterpillar and an attorney admitted to the state bar associations of Indiana, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Texas, according to his website.

Folley is married and is father of 9, stepfather of two, and grandfather of 11.

Benarroch also is a veteran, of the U.S. Air Force. Born in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, she moved to Florida in 2003, according to her campaign website.Active in the Republican party and the Collier County community, Benarroch has served as Collier County GOP Executive Committee vice chair and currently is chair of the Collier Chapter of Moms for Liberty, a parent group aimed at fighting for parental rights in education. She has U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds’ endorsement.

Benarroch is co-owner of Affordable Landscaping Service Design LLC, which services the Marco Island and Naples area.

In her Form 6 financial disclosure filed with the state Division of Elections, Benarroch declared her net worth at $2.61 million. She is the only Republican candidate in the race to file the form.

Work’s form showed a net worth of $11.45 million.

According to her website, Benarroch currently lives in Marco Island with her husband, two teenage sons, and two golden retrievers. She has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, a master’s degree in marketing from Southern New Hampshire University.

Brandy Alexander, a Naples attorney with law offices in Georgia, attended the University of Florida, Fredric G. Levin College of Law, according to The Florida Bar. As of June 14, Alexander no longer showed up as a candidate on the Florida Department of State website.

Her website reads “Coming Soon” and a response on her email says she is on leave.

Robert Charles Work is the only Democrat to file and qualify for District 81. A retired attorney now living in Naples, Work is serving as his own campaign treasurer, according to his campaign documents.

If he remains unopposed, Work will skip any primary election and run against the Republican candidate Nov. 5.

According to the Supervisor of Elections website, here’s how much the candidates have raised in their campaigns, thus far (to the dollar): Folley ($123,260), Benarroch ($94,348), Alexander ($250) and Work ($0).

District 81

District 81 covers from Naples Park east of Golden Gate south through Marco Island and including Goodland and Isles of Capri. It is bordered on the East by Collier Boulevard/County Road 951.

More Elections: Marco Island City Council elections deadline approaches; What to know

More: Collier Commissioner Saunders faces four challengers in District 3 race

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Race to watch: State Representative District 81 has multiple candidates