“I’ll stay in the House. I really truly enjoy what I am doing right now. I’ve always enjoyed working in the Legislature. I love serving my precinct,” Benavente, R-Saipan, told the Variety in an interview on Friday.
He said he wants to focus on legislation that will help the commonwealth deal with its worsening economic crisis.
Benavente was the first Republican to seek his party’s gubernatorial nomination.
But he failed to find a running mate.
He said this year’s election will be “very tough.”
Benavente, the chairman of the House Committee on U.S. and Foreign Relations, is the only CNMI speaker elected for three consecutive terms — from Jan. 1994 to Jan. 2000.
With Benavente out of the race, the GOP primary will be between the tickets of Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider and his running mate Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, and former Gov. Juan N. Babauta and running mate Galvin S. Deleon Guerrero, a member of the Board of Education.
Benavente said both camps have sought his support, but he remains noncommittal.
“I have a lot of friends and families who are on both sides that I am close to. My decision in the end will be to support the candidate who I believe would best serve the commonwealth,” he said.
“I will continue to be loyal to the Republican Party. I will support the winner of the primary,” he added.
Benavente was Babauta’s running mate in the 2001 and 2005 gubernatorial elections.
