Overview
- On Wednesday, Reps. Mike Haridopolos and Anna Paulina Luna issued a joint statement endorsing Ryan Elijah over incumbent Rep. Cory Mills in the Aug. 18 Republican primary.
- Elijah has recently outraised Mills and collected local support from state and county officials, giving him financial momentum and high-profile law-enforcement endorsements.
- Mills remains under a long-running House Ethics Committee inquiry and has been reported to be the subject of a Justice Department probe, which he denies and calls untrue.
- Candidates, including Mills and Elijah, debated this week in New Smyrna Beach where the DOJ reporting, ethics questions, and Trump’s continued endorsement of Mills were central topics.
- Political ratings and Democratic targeting have made the 7th District more competitive, and party divisions now increase the risk that the GOP nominee could be weakened for the November general election.