In the
2001 Alberta election, Benito ran as the
Progressive Conservative candidate for the riding of
Edmonton-Mill Woods but lost to
Weslyn Mather. He ran again in
2008, this time defeating Mather. He described himself as Alberta's first Filipino MLA. In 2012, Benito lost the Progressive Conservative nomination for his riding, placing third behind
Sohail Quadri and Ron Randhawa. He ran in the
2012 election as an independent. He lost the election, placing fifth.
Controversies During his 2008 election campaign, Benito pledged would donate his salary as an MLA (approximately $75,000) to a scholarship fund. He later claimed that he did not mean he would give away his entire salary, just a part of it. Benito blamed his wife for a failure to pay property taxes on their rental properties. Benito later paid the taxes after the matter was covered in a front-page
Edmonton Journal article. In October 2022, Benito, together with his son, Charles Benito, pleaded guilty to immigration fraud. Benito was fined $75,000 for the offence. ==Election results==