Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on April 22. The House Ethics Committee is investigating Mills over allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations. Mills denies any wrongdoing.
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Republican U.S. Rep. Cory Mills is running for reelection in Florida while facing allegations he assaulted a woman last year.
Mills is the latest lawmaker in a recent string of congressional members facing scandals and allegations of domestic abuse while running for elected office. The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation this year over allegations that Mills assaulted a former girlfriend and also violated campaign finance laws.
NPR reached out to Mills’ office for a response to those allegations but did not hear back. He has previously denied any wrongdoing.
Mills’ campaign signs feature “Trump Endorsed” in big letters across the top, and though President Trump did endorse him in February, he left Mills out of a number of endorsements posted on social media running up to Tuesday’s primary election.
And when asked about Mills late last week, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said, “I have not endorsed Cory Mills, and I do not support Cory Mills.”
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.
The 7th Congressional District is situated in central Florida, from the northern suburbs of Orlando to the coast south of Daytona Beach. It is one of seven districts left unchanged when Florida redrew its congressional maps in May.
Sanford sits in the heart of the district, and it’s where resident Patrick Austin cast his ballot over the weekend.
“He delivers for our district,” said Austin. “He’s brought a lot of money. He’s fixed a lot of issues that we needed — that’s all I want.”
Voter Tiffany Davis said Mills had too much “baggage” for her to vote for him. She is concerned that if he wins the primary, he’ll lose in the general election.
“I think Cory Mills is going to get beat, honestly, if it comes to a Democrat, and I just don’t think I can chance it,” she said. “I think he has a lot of issues. I think he was a good guy, but he has too many issues right now.”
The scandals around Mills have muddied Republicans’ clear chance of winning and keeping the seat. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which tracks races, moved Mills’ district from the “solid Republican” column to the less certain “likely Republican.”
Democratic voter Penny Merthie said she would love for Mills to win and give her party’s challenger a shot at beating him, “because he has a lot of controversy around him and he doesn’t represent the people.”
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.
