Democrats, Republicans vie to replace Florida Rep. Cory Mills

Already contending with a House ethics probe and numerous allegations of misconduct, embattled Congressman Cory Mills is facing yet another hurdle: a primary challenge from three fellow Republicans.

One of those challengers, former TV anchor Ryan Elijah, has the backing of key Central Florida leaders, including the sheriffs in Seminole and Volusia counties.

Even if Mills survives the primary, he’ll have to fend off a Democratic opponent in the November general election. One of those Democratic candidates, Bale Dalton, has out-raised Mills and, as a U.S. Navy Captain and former Chief of Staff at NASA, boasts credentials that might appeal to swing voters.

In all, seven major-party candidates seek to represent the right-leaning Congressional District 7, which takes in all of Seminole County and the southern half of Volusia County.

Two Democrats, Alan Grayson and Marialana Kinter, do not live in the district, which is allowed by the U.S. Constitution. Congress members must live in the states where their districts are located, but not within their district’s boundaries.

The candidates

Four Republicans, including Mills, are seeking their party’s nomination.

Elijah is a former Fox 35 anchor who entered the race in May and has quickly racked up endorsements. His supporters include Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, former Congressman and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, state Sen. Tom Wright, state Rep. Rachel Plakon and Seminole County Commissioner Amy Lockhart. He lives in Sanford.

Michael Johnson is a U.S. Army veteran and 33-year Department of Defense employee from Altamonte Springs who now has a realtors license. He previously sought the Republican nomination in 2024, when he received 19% of the vote and lost to Mills.

Johnson filed a lawsuit to remove Mills from the August ballot over a clerical issue. A judge in Leon County Circuit Court tossed the suit last month, but Johnson is appealing the decision.

Mills, who listed a New Smyrna Beach address on his election paperwork, is the subject of House ethics and Department of Justice investigations and has been accused of misrepresenting his military record, engaging in unethical business dealings, assaulting a girlfriend and stalking an ex-girlfriend. Colleagues from both sides of the aisle have called on the congressman to resign, though he has denied any wrongdoing.

Though Elijah has nabbed endorsements from key Central Florida leaders, Mills has the support of President Donald Trump, who praised him as an “America First Patriot” last February and said he supported the congressman’s reelection campaign.

Mills could not be reached by the Orlando Sentinel for an interview, as the phone number and email address listed on his campaign paperwork are not working. His campaign website says he is “dedicated to transparency.”

“Our elected officials in Congress are elected by their constituencies to be ‘representatives’ of the people,” the website reads. “That is precisely the role in which Cory intends to serve.”

Sarah Ulrich of Port Orange is a real estate agent. She founded and ran a business with her husband, renovating unlivable homes and also created and managed a distribution program for a Florida-based manufacturer.

Democrats will choose from three candidates this month.

Dalton served 23 years in the Navy, when he flew medevac helicopters in Iraq and led combat missions against ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban. He also worked at the state department and for former Florida U.S. Senator Bill Nelson in Congress. As Chief of Staff for NASA, he managed 16,500 employees.

He has the backing of high-profile Democratic leaders, including Nelson, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, former U.S. Reps. Val Demings and Stephanie Murphy, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor.

Grayson is a government contracts attorney and former U.S. representative who has run, unsuccessfully, for several other elected positions since leaving Congress in 2017. In an interview with the Sentinel, he touted his achievements in Congress, including helping secure funding for a Veterans Affairs hospital in Orlando and a SunRail expansion.

He also had his share of controversies during his tenure in Congress, including facing ethical questions about his work as a hedge-fund manager while he was in elected office and allegations, which he denied, that he had abused his ex-wife.

Kinter joined the U.S. Navy after high school, completing training as a nuclear machinist mate and was stationed on a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. She later served as a nuclear field liaison and acted as a public representative conducting over 300 STEM events and presentations in colleges, high schools, museums, and libraries advocating for nuclear power.

She has secured endorsements from former state Sen. Victor Torres, state Rep. Angie Nixon, Orange County Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad and Lake Helen City Commissioner Sean Abshire.

The winners of the two major-party primaries will also face a third-party candidate, Libertarian Christopher Dennison, in the general election.

Fundraising

Dalton has the clear fundraising advantage, bringing in $1.2 million through June 30, when the last reporting period ended, according to the Federal Election Commission. He had $763,408 left in his coffers at that time.

Mills has raised $864,851, but had just $81,082 remaining to spend.

Kinter has received $509,600, but had $113,902 left.

Elijah has raised $301,661, with $267,870 still in the bank.

Grayson has taken in $212,164, including loans totaling $173,697 to his own campaign. He had $120,572 remaining at the end of the last reporting period.

Johnson has received $44,394, with $9,433 left.

Ulrich has raised $17,859, with just $1,697 still available to spend.

Candidates say change is needed

Some of the candidates had harsh words for Mills. Democrats Dalton and Grayson offered the most pointed criticism, with Grayson pointing out that since Mills was elected four years ago, he has sponsored just one piece of substantive legislation that has been signed into law. That bill called for the renaming of the U.S. Post Office in Casselberry.

“Cory Mills is the worst member of Congress currently,” Grayson said.

Dalton said his decision to run for Congress had been motivated, in part, by Mills’ poor leadership.

“I just don’t think that we are getting someone who is focused on the needs and struggles of what we are experiencing here in Central Florida,” Dalton said. “And, frankly, that’s just an embarrassment to me, that my own representative is doing such a poor job at representing, and, frankly, just doing a poor job of being someone that should be held in esteem and respect as somebody working on behalf of the people.”

Elijah also said his decision to run was prompted by his disappointment with Mills.

“I got in this race and left my career that I loved because I believe we needed change,” Elijah said, adding he thinks Republicans will lose the seat in November if Mills is the party’s nominee.

As a former journalist, Elijah has an unusual background for a politician, but he said he thinks his experience in a public-facing role has helped prepare him for elected office.

“It’s a very hard system to beat an incumbent, and I just think I was the right person at the right time to give people that option,” he said.

By contrast, Elijah was reluctant to take Trump to task. The other Republicans in the race, however, offered some criticism of the president, with Johnson saying the U.S. should not be committing resources to protecting shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea and manipulating oil prices.

And under Trump’s watch, Johnson said, the Justice Department had not done enough to investigate accused wrongdoers in the government, including people implicated in the Epstein files and elected officials who may have acted unethically, including Mills.

For her part, Ulrich said she didn’t like how the president had gone after lawmakers who disagree with him and tried to derail their reelection bids by endorsing their challengers.

“You don’t stifle dissenting voices,” she said.

Democrats, on the other hand, need to present a united front and be ready to work with others within their party, and outside of it, even if they don’t share all of the same views, Kinter said. That’s particularly true because her party doesn’t hold a majority in either chamber.

“In terms of what Democrats need to do is they need to be more vocal, be more active,” she said. “We love to see people speak out.”

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