ORLANDO
Rep. Cory Mills lost his primary bid for a third term in Florida's 7th Congressional District, falling to challenger Ryan Elijah, a former television news anchor, by approximately 12 percentage points.
The loss capped a swift collapse of support within Mills' own party. President Donald Trump, who endorsed Mills in February, pointedly excluded him from social media endorsements in the final days before Tuesday's primary. Gov. Ron DeSantis went further, publicly declaring last week: "I have not endorsed Cory Mills, and I do not support Cory Mills."
Mills has faced a House Ethics Committee investigation opened this year into allegations he assaulted a former girlfriend and violated campaign finance laws. He has denied the charges.
Elijah, who secured backing from Republican Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos, unseated an incumbent whose campaign website still displayed endorsements from about a dozen House Republicans. Other candidates in the primary included real estate agent Sarah Ulrich and Army veteran Michael Don Johnson, who works for the Department of Defense.
The district, which stretches from Orlando's northern suburbs to the coast south of Daytona Beach, remained unchanged after Florida's maps were redrawn in May. The Cook Political Report shifted its rating for the seat from "solid Republican" to "likely Republican" — a signal of GOP vulnerability in the general election.
Local voters were split on Mills' record. Sanford resident Patrick Austin credited the congressman's local work: "He delivers for our district. He's brought a lot of money. He's fixed a lot of issues that we needed." But voter Tiffany Davis cited his mounting legal troubles. "I think he has a lot of issues," Davis said. "I think he was a good guy, but he has too many issues right now. I think Cory Mills is going to get beat if it comes to a Democrat."
