Lily Benavides
Lily Benavides is an American activist for human rights and immigrant rights. She served as a Democratic member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009, representing Hillsborough District 17. She became independent in 2014 and switched to the Green Party in 2016.
Political career
Benavides was elected to the New Hampshire House in 2006. She was a member of the NH Immigrant Rights Task Force where she fought discrimination against Latinos in New Hampshire. Benavides did not seek re-election in 2008. She endorsed Bill Richardson in the Democratic Party presidential primaries.In 2024, Benavides was the Green Party nominee for New Jersey's 11th congressional district, challenging Democratic incumbent Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill. Benavides was initially chosen by 2025 Green Party gubernatorial nominee Stephen Zielinski as his running mate. However, after Zielinski withdrew from the race due to health issues, Benavides stepped up to replace him as the party's nominee for governor, with software engineer Lisa Ryan as her running mate. Benavides withdrew from the race after she fell below the required 2,000 nomination signatures to be placed on the ballot.