Trump Endorsement Tested as Cory Mills Loses Florida GOP Primary

Former local television news anchor Ryan Elijah defeated incumbent Rep. Cory Mills in the Republican primary for Florida’s 7th Congressional District, winning by roughly a 12-percentage-point margin. Elijah’s victory ends Mills’s bid for a third term.

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The 7th District stretches from the northern Orlando suburbs to the coast south of Daytona Beach and was unchanged in the 2025 redistricting. Mills, a military veteran, had won the seat in 2024 and 2022, but his re-election campaign was shadowed by multiple investigations. Since November, the House Ethics Committee has examined allegations that Mills violated campaign-finance rules and engaged in sexual misconduct, including a police report of an alleged assault that was later recanted. A separate restraining order was issued after a former girlfriend, Lindsey Langston, claimed stalking and threats. Mills has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has said no criminal or civic cases are pending against him.

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President Donald Trump endorsed Mills in February, describing him as an “America First Patriot.” However, Trump’s later advertising omitted Mills from the list of endorsed Florida Republicans. Prominent Florida GOP members—Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and Rep. Mike Haridopolos—publicly backed Elijah, signaling intra-party dissent.

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• Margin of victory: Elijah led Mills by about 12 percentage points.

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• Cook Political Report rating: The district shifted from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican” after the primary.

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• Endorsements: Mills retained support from roughly a dozen House Republicans, including Brian Mast, Gus Bilirakis, and John Rutherford, while losing the backing of Governor Ron DeSantis and two Florida GOP representatives.

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• Governor Ron DeSantis declined to endorse Mills, stating, “I have not endorsed Cory Mills, and I do not support Cory Mills.” (see Verbatim Quotes).

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• Mills’s campaign declined to comment on the ethics investigation when approached by reporters.

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• Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) previously led a bipartisan effort to censure Mills and later withdrew a push for expulsion, but she endorsed Elijah in the primary.

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Florida GOP figures Luna and Haridopolos argued that Mills’s legal and ethical troubles made him unsuitable for re-election, joining other Republicans in endorsing Elijah. DeSantis’s refusal to back Mills further underscored the party’s split over the incumbent’s candidacy.

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• “I have not endorsed Cory Mills, and I do not support Cory Mills.” — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis

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• “He's brought a lot of money. He's fixed a lot of issues that we needed — that's all I want.” — Voter Tiffany Davis

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• The House Ethics Committee’s probe is confirmed, but the extent of any criminal investigation remains unclear.

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• A police report of assault was recanted by the complainant, while a separate restraining order against Mills remains in effect. The public record does not disclose the final outcome of the ethics investigation.

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Elijah is slated to face Democratic nominee Bale Dalton—a 24-year Navy veteran and former NASA chief of staff—in the November general election. Democrats, buoyed by the Cook Report’s revised rating, are allocating resources to the race, viewing the seat as potentially competitive despite its recent Republican lean.

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