Trump-endorsed Mills' Florida Primary Loss Amid House Ethics Investigation

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Trump-endorsed Mills' Florida Primary Loss Amid House Ethics Investigation
Photo: New York Times
politics· A press review of 10 outlets
  1. Trump-endorsed Mills loses primary in Florida amid House Ethics probe Republican Rep. Cory Mills is projected to lose his Florida, according to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), marking a setback for President Trump, who endorsed his reelection bid. Ryan Elijah, a former TV reporter, defeated the incumbent and two other GOP challengers with the support of two of Mills’s Florida House Republican colleagues — Reps. Mike…

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    NPR News

    Mills' campaign website shows the endorsements of about a dozen House Republicans. Meanwhile, his main GOP challenger, former local television news anchor Ryan Elijah, has been endorsed by Florida GOP Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos. Also running in the GOP primary are real estate agent Sarah Ulrich and U.S. Army veteran and Department of Defense employee Michael Don Johnson.

    Fox News

    Mills, who served in the Army, has been bogged down by controversies in recent years that have prompted two of his fellow Florida Republicans — Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla. — to call for him to drop out of the race.

    NBC News

    Republican Rep. Cory Mills has lost his primary in Florida, NBC News projects, amid a swirl of investigations and negative publicity and despite running with the backing of President Donald Trump.

    New York Times

    Cory Mills Loses Republican Primary Amid Assault Allegations and Ethics Investigation Mr. Mills, who is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee and has faced allegations of assault and threatening behavior toward women, lost to Ryan Elijah, a former TV news anchor.

    HuffPost

    Mills, who was seeking his third term in Congress, had to fend off three Republican primary challengers while also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations he benefited from contracts from the federal government.

    Washington Examiner

    Former news anchor Ryan Elijah beat Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) after allegations of domestic violence, stolen valor, and financial impropriety beleaguered Mills’s campaign.

    Breitbart

    Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) has fallen to local newscaster Ryan Elijah in Tuesday evening’s Republican primary for Florida’s Seventh Congressional District, marking an upset for the controversial two-term congressman.

    The Daily Wire

    Elijah campaigned heavily on the allegations against Mills and received endorsements from several prominent Florida Republicans. Johnson, who previously challenged Mills, also made Mills’ controversies a central focus of his campaign, while Ulrich ran as a socially conservative alternative.

    New York Post

    President Trump had endorsed Mills in the race but notably did not re-up the endorsement on Truth Social in recent days as he did with several other GOP candidates in Florida. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

  2. Even though Mills won this district twice, Democrats consider this race competitive and are putting money toward flipping the seat. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is throwing its support to Bale Dalton, a 24-year Navy veteran and former NASA chief of staff. Also running is former Rep. Alan Grayson, who was first elected in 2008 to represent Florida's 8th district. He lost that seat after one term and won in 2012 in the 9th Congressional District, where he served two terms.

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    Fox News

    Bale Dalton defeated ex-congressman Alan Grayson and progressive Marialana Kinter, another Navy veteran, for the Democratic nomination to run in the Sunshine State's 7th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla.

  3. But with Mills and his baggage out of the race, Democrats’ chances to flip the seat slim drastically. Elijah will face Bale Dalton after Dalton won the Democratic primary in Tuesday’s election.

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    The Daily Wire

    Elijah will now face Democratic nominee Bale Dalton in November. Democrats have identified the district as a potential pickup opportunity, although the heavily Republican seat remains expected to favor the GOP.

From the margins

7 details only one outlet reported

Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.

  1. 01 Fox News

    A retired Navy helicopter pilot backed by the Democratic establishment cruised to victory in the Florida primaries on Tuesday night.

  2. 02 Washington Examiner

    “We need leaders in Congress who serve with integrity, energy, and an unwavering commitment to the people who sent them there,” the two Florida Republicans wrote. “Ryan Elijah is that leader. We are confident he will represent our shared values with distinction and deliver results for the families of Seminole and Volusia Counties. We wholeheartedly endorse Ryan Elijah and urge our fellow Republicans to join us in supporting him.”

  3. 03 NBC News

    Mills is the 11th House member to lose a primary so far this year, an unusually high number. Seven Democrats and four Republicans have lost their bids for renomination.

  4. 04 NPR News

    NPR reached out to Mills' office for a response to those allegations but did not hear back. He has previously denied any wrongdoing.

  5. 05 HuffPost

    Last year, Mills was investigated over allegations he assaulted a 27-year-old woman. The charge was later dropped, but Mills was accused later that year of threatening to release nude images and videos of his ex-girlfriend after she broke up with him.

  6. 06 Breitbart

    Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) won the Republican nomination to succeed DeSantis on Tuesday night, prompting Elijah to voice his support for helping him win the general election in November:

  7. 07 The Daily Wire

    Decision Desk HQ projects Ryan Elijah wins the Florida US House 7 Republican Primary#DecisionMade: 7:53 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/TvJjVyAgSK

Assembled from 3 corroborated claims drawn from 10 independent outlets. Every passage above is taken verbatim — Dorothy doesn't paraphrase or summarize.

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Sources (10)

  • huffpost
  • nyt
  • nypost
  • dailywire
  • foxnews
  • breitbart
  • npr
  • thehill
  • nbc
  • washexaminer

Original Articles (11)