DeSantis refuses to endorse Cory Mills ahead of Tuesday primary
Governor ron DeSantis (R-FL) has declined to endorse incumbent Congressman Cory Mills ahead of next week’s competitive Republican primary in Florida’s 7th District. DeSantis made it clear he does not support Mills adn chose not to elaborate further on his opposition. Mills faces three Republican challengers, with ryan Elijah emerging as a strong contender, backed by prominent Republicans Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos.
Mills’s relationship with DeSantis has been strained; Mills previously supported Donald Trump over DeSantis during the governor’s 2024 presidential campaign.The congressman also discussed a potential primary challenge to DeSantis’s preferred candidate for Florida’s Senate seat, but DeSantis ultimately appointed Senator Ashley moody instead. Trump, who had endorsed Mills earlier in the year, did not mention Mills in his recent endorsements.
Mills faces ongoing investigations by the House Ethics Committee, including a probe into a domestic violence incident and a Department of Justice inquiry with unspecified reasons.he also encountered a legal challenge over his qualification paperwork, which was dismissed, and has struggled financially, ending the second quarter with around $81,000 in campaign funds. Simultaneously occurring, Representative Byron Donalds, running for governor, avoided commenting on Mills or the backing he has received, simply stating that the voters of District 7 will decide the race.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) refused to endorse incumbent Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) as he faces a competitive Republican primary next week.
“I have not endorsed Cory Mills, and I do not support Cory Mills,” DeSantis said Friday at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, not far from Florida’s 7th Congressional District. DeSantis also declined to elaborate on his opposition to the incumbent.
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DeSantis is far from the first prominent Republican to withhold support from Mills, who is facing an investigation by the House Committee on Ethics. Mills will face three Republican challengers in Tuesday’s primary, with former local news anchor Ryan Elijah emerging as his most formidable opponent. Elijah has been endorsed by Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Mike Haridopolos (R-FL).
Mills and DeSantis have had a rocky relationship, as the congressman backed President Donald Trump over DeSantis during the governor’s 2024 presidential campaign.
DeSantis and Mills also had a conversation about filling Florida’s Senate seat after Marco Rubio was tapped to serve as secretary of state in 2025. DeSantis ultimately selected Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL), while Mills said he would mount a primary against whoever the governor selected.
Trump also did not mention Mills while endorsing a slew of Florida candidates this week, but he did endorse Mills in February. Mills is the only incumbent in the four-way Republican primary.
Mills is also facing scrutiny from the House Ethics Committee, which has investigated him since August 2024 and established an investigative subcommittee in November 2025. The inquiry includes an alleged February 2025 domestic violence incident involving Mills. He is also facing an investigation from the Department of Justice, but the reason for the probe is unclear.
Another GOP challenger, Michael Johnson, sued Mills over his qualification paperwork for the House race, but a state judge dismissed the lawsuit.
Mills has also struggled to raise money for his reelection campaign. He ended the second quarter with roughly $81,000 cash on hand.
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Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who is mounting a campaign for governor, also sidestepped a question about whether he wants Mills to win or what he thinks of Luna and Haridopolos backing Elijah.
“That’s now in the hands of the voters in CD-7,” Donalds said during a campaign stop in Crawfordville in northern Florida.
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