Embattled Florida Rep. Cory Mills is on his way out after a devastating loss in Tuesday’s primary.
Amid a wave of scandals including allegations of sexual assault and campaign finance violations, Rep. Mills was defeated by former news anchor Ryan Elijah.
LATER, GATOR: Voters fired Florida Rep. Cory Mills in Tuesday’s primary, instead opting for underdog candidate Ryan Elijah to head to Novembers general election.
Mills, even with Trump’s endorsement, couldn’t hang onto his seat in Florida’s 7th congressional amid a myriad of… pic.twitter.com/F7nwXlvCRu
— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) August 19, 2026
LATER, GATOR: Voters fired Florida Rep. Cory Mills in Tuesday’s primary, instead opting for underdog candidate Ryan Elijah to head to Novembers general election.
Mills, even with Trump’s endorsement, couldn’t hang onto his seat in Florida’s 7th congressional amid a myriad of scandals plaguing his campaign. He is now the second House Republican in recent months to fall amid ethics scandals.
NBC News reported further on the election results:
Former television journalist Ryan Elijah captured the Republican nomination over Mills in Florida’s 7th District, a seat Trump carried by 12 percentage points in 2024. Democrats have hoped to make it competitive this fall, especially if Mills were on the ballot.
With more than 80% of the expected vote counted, Elijah had 46% of the GOP primary vote to 34% for Mills.
Unlike other incumbents who have fallen short this year for being on the wrong side of intraparty divides, Mills was defeated as he has been dogged by multiple investigations, including a House Ethics Committee probe into allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations, as well as a Justice Department investigation into his finances. He has denied wrongdoing.
Despite his struggles, Mills still got Trump’s endorsement. The loss makes him the latest member of a relatively rare set of Republican candidates who lost GOP primaries even with Trump’s blessing. Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee also lost his primary this month with Trump’s support.
Mills is the 11th House member — seven Democrats and four Republicans — to lose a primary this year, an unusually high number.
Earlier this year, the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into the sexual assault and campaign finance violations Rep. Mills is accused of.
His ex-girlfriend has filed for a restraining order against him.
In addition, Rep. Miller is being investigated by the DOJ related to his finances.
Fox News commented:
The win is undoubtedly an upset victory against Mills, who held a sizable lead in multiple polls leading up to primary night and earned the most important and coveted endorsement in GOP politics.
But the effort to oust Mills from Congress has lasted months and was ultimately successful.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., led a failed bipartisan effort to censure Mills and threatened to push for his expulsion, though she later backed off the latter measure. She also endorsed Elijah’s bid against the Florida lawmaker.
Earlier this month, Reps. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., announced they were also endorsing Elijah over Mills in a race for the seat in their home state.
Mills, a military veteran, referenced his Trump endorsement several times on the campaign trail as he downplayed scandals plaguing his bid to keep his job.
Initially, Rep. Cory Mills secured President Trump’s endorsement.
But, that was before being hit with all of these accusations.
After Mills’ defeat, President Trump revealed that he had previously urged the Congressman to drop out of the race.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump also threw his full support behind primary winner Ryan Elijah.
Eric Daugherty shared President Trump’s full response to Rep. Mills losing his primary:
🚨 JUST IN: President Trump reveals Rep. Cory Mills REFUSED to DROP OUT despite 47’s wishes — now Trump is endorsing GOP primary winner MAGA Ryan Elijah
Mills not only LIED to Trump about the restraining order against him but also protected Ilhan Omar in Congress.
Mills was… pic.twitter.com/ZEBS1n1fee
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 19, 2026
JUST IN: President Trump reveals Rep. Cory Mills REFUSED to DROP OUT despite 47’s wishes — now Trump is endorsing GOP primary winner MAGA Ryan Elijah
Mills not only LIED to Trump about the restraining order against him but also protected Ilhan Omar in Congress.
Mills was going to LOSE this seat to Dems!
TRUMP: “I told Congressman Cory Mills of Florida, a friend of mine, to get out of the Race, but he wouldn’t listen. He thought he could win, so who can blame him? We now have a great candidate, Ryan Elijah, running in his place!”
“Ryan stands for EVERYTHING MAGA, and is respected by ALL. He has my Complete and Total Endorsement! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
According to Ryan Elijah, President Trump also called him to personally congratulate him on his win.
The New York Post shared:
“It felt like a people’s victory to us because of all the people that had backed us, and it was just very rewarding,” Elijah told The Post Wednesday, noting that he got a congratulatory text from Trump.
“I talked to a lot of voters who just felt that they were not being represented,” added the former Fox Orlando host. “They wanted another choice given the run of ethics violations we’ve seen on both sides in Congress.
“And I think the message that was sent last night is that the American people are tired of it.”
Mills was one of three Trump-endorsed candidates to lose their primaries Tuesday, along with Catalina Lauf in Florida’s 19th Congressional District and Wyoming gubernatorial candidate Megan Degenfelder.
Despite those setbacks, the president still boasts a 96% success rate, with 313 of his 330 picks winning their primary elections so far this year, according to Ballotpedia.
Elijah was backed by Mills’ House GOP colleagues Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos, while popular outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis made clear last week that “I have not endorsed Cory Mills and I do not support Cory Mills.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, who is behind a motion to expel Rep. Mills from Congress, also reacted to his primary loss.
Watch here:
Cory Mills is DEVASTATED. I explain why our own party told him to get rekt and threw him out.
Thank you Florida! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/DHnK3V1DTs
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) August 19, 2026
Aside from the serious allegations Rep. Mills is facing, the congressman also came under scrutiny after he made a controversial decision to protect Rep. Ilhan Omar from being censured.
Last September, he cast the deciding vote to shield Rep. Ilhan Omar from being stripped of her committees after she made disgusting comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
🚨 BREAKING: GOP Rep. Cory Mills, who cast the deciding vote AGAINST removing Ilhan Omar from her committees for justifying Charlie Kirk’s murder, has LOST his primary to Ryan Elijah
Good riddance. Ilhan Omar should have ZERO committee positions, let alone a seat in Congress. pic.twitter.com/7ET3yrt4pQ
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 19, 2026
Maybe now we can finally get Rep. Omar removed!
What are your thoughts?
Are you happy Rep. Mills has been ousted?
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.