Ryan Elijah Wins GOP Nomination, Topples Cory Mills in Florida
FLORIDA — Ryan Elijah has won the Republican nomination for Florida’s 7th Congressional District after the Associated Press projected he defeated embattled i...
FLORIDA — Ryan Elijah has won the Republican nomination for Florida’s 7th Congressional District after the Associated Press projected he defeated embattled incumbent Cory Mills in Tuesday’s primary. Elijah, a former TV news anchor, is now set to face Democrat Bale Dalton in November.
The result clears the way for a general-election race in a district that includes all of Seminole County and parts of southern Volusia County. It also ends Mills’ bid for a third term in the House. Tough night. For Mills, the loss lands after a campaign shadowed by ethics scrutiny and a fractured GOP base.
AP calls the race
The Associated Press called the contest for Elijah after early results showed him ahead in the Republican primary. In one source account, Elijah won 47% of the vote in District 7, which covers all of Seminole County and parts of southern Volusia County.
At a watch party in Sanford, Elijah told supporters, “To me, the people spoke tonight, and they sent a very clear message,” adding, “We won against an incumbent, which is not easy to do. And it’s because a lot of people in this room stood up.”
He later called the result a “people’s win.”
Mills faced mounting problems
Mills’ campaign had already run into trouble before voters went to the polls. One issue was his absence from President Donald Trump’s latest endorsement list, after Trump had endorsed him earlier in the cycle.
His race also carried heavy baggage. The House Ethics Committee is investigating Mills over allegations tied to campaign finance violations and dating violence. Separate reporting said there was a restraining order against him for allegedly stalking and threatening Lindsey Langston, a Republican state committee woman and one of his girlfriends. Langston reportedly ended the relationship after Mills was charged by Washington, D.C., police with assaulting another girlfriend. That charge was later dropped.
What comes next in District 7
Elijah will now turn to the November election against Bale Dalton, who the AP says is expected to be his Democratic opponent. In the Democratic primary, Dalton defeated former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson and candidate Marialana Kinter.
The Republican primary had already drawn wide attention because Mills was trying to hold the seat while facing an ethics inquiry and a series of allegations that dogged his re-election effort. Elijah, by contrast, ran as a political newcomer and quickly built a well-financed campaign.
Supporters at Elijah’s Sanford watch party framed the win as a rejection of the incumbent. Harrison Hodges of Lake Mary put it bluntly: “Cory Mills brought his problems to work.”
The fight now shifts to November, where District 7 voters will decide whether Elijah keeps the seat Republican or Dalton flips it. The AP call came after Elijah’s victory in a race decided in a district that spans Seminole County and southern Volusia County.
