Roman Benavente is an independent member of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, representing District 1 (Saipan). Benavente, whose full name is Roman Cepeda Benavente, first served in the House from 2013 to 2017. Benavente returned to the House after winning a seat in the November 2022 election, taking office in January 2023, and was re-elected in 2024. Benavente is a candidate for re-election in the November 2026 general election.1
Before entering the legislature, Benavente served on the commonwealth’s Board of Education from 2000 to 2002 and again from 2004 to 2008, spending four years as the board’s chair. In the 2022 campaign, Benavente was one of the District 1 House candidates on the independent slate aligned with the gubernatorial ticket of Arnold Palacios and David Apatang, which won the governorship that year. In the 24th Commonwealth Legislature, which convened in January 2025, Benavente chairs the House Committee on Education.
