For two years, Cory Mills has been under investigation by Congress, accused of multiple serious violations of House ethics rules as well as state and federal law.
For even longer, many voters in U.S. House District 7 — which takes in all of Seminole County and the southern half of Volusia County — have known there was something off about their congressman. Tuesday, GOP voters in this increasingly red sector of Central Florida got tired of waiting for House leaders to act — and took out the trash themselves. In the Republican primary, they thumped Mills out of contention, choosing a new nominee — former TV journalist Ryan Elijah, who will take on former NASA executive Bale Dalton in the November general election. It wasn’t even close: Elijah beat Mills by more than 8,000 votes and trounced two other Republicans in the primary.
November’s general election promises to be a good race. Dalton and Elijah are well-matched, their reputations equally spotless. Both have picked up significant endorsements — particularly unusual in the case of Elijah, who ran against an incumbent but picked up the backing of Seminole Sheriff Dennis Lemma and Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood in the primary.
Voters can be proud that the law enforcement leaders acted when congressional leaders would not.
But we ask Congress — and GOP voters across the country — to make it clear that the House’s work is not yet done when it comes to Mills.
Charges piled up
District 7 voters deserved better from the start. For most of his service in the House, Mills’ reputation has been clouded, starting with his campaign boasts of military heroism. In 2024, high-ranking military officers told the Orlando Sentinel that Mills’ actual record doesn’t fit his claims of valor. Later, reporting by the website NOTUS found serious issues with Mills’ Bronze Star commendation — including the statement of one of the two men he was commended for rescuing from enemy fire, who said he doesn’t think Mills was present.
There have also been concerns about whether the arms company Mills founded is doing business with the federal government (or supplying arms to hostile foreign governments), challenges to the veracity of his financial disclosures and questions about his campaign finances.
These reports would be troubling for any member of Congress. But Mills serves on committees that have influence over military spending and include access to classified security information. He’s also a part of the Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee for Armed Services — a position that gives Mills access to classified national security briefings. Earlier this year, Mother Jones magazine quoted a security expert at the Atlantic Council who called Mills a classic example of a security threat: “He’s got financial problems; he’s got problems with dishonesty and ego,” former CIA agent John Sipher told MoJo.
Then came the story that caught national headlines: After an extensive public hearing in October, a North Florida judge issued a sternly worded restraining order in October telling Mills to stay away from one of the congressman’s ex-girlfriends — Lindsey Langston, the 2024 winner of the Miss United States Pageant. Langston testified that Mills threatened to release intimate video that could cost Langston her title. Langston broke up with Mills after learning that police had been called to the Washington, D.C., apartment Mills shared with another young woman, who showed officers marks on her arms that she said Mills was responsible for (a story she later recanted).
Mills has consistently denied all the charges against him. Those denials ring increasingly hollow. The question is: What happens now?
Keep chasing truth
This story should not end with the election results; unless he resigns, Mills is a member of Congress until January and thus, still subject to Ethics oversight.
District 7 voters, along with the nation, deserve the truth. So far, they only have a report issued late last year by the Office of Congressional Conduct, which found probable cause to support many of the allegations against Mills. Earlier this year, House members sent the case to the full Ethics Committee, which is said to have issued subpoenas and called witnesses.
Many of the people who endorsed Mills early started backing away as allegations emerged — including President Donald Trump, who did not include Mills in a list of previously endorsed House candidates he issued right before the election. By Wednesday, the spin job was complete: “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?” Trump posted on Truth Social.
The issue is not who “blames” Mills. It’s who holds him accountable. House leaders should finish the job they started: Hold hearings, present their best evidence and give Mills a chance to state his defense. If they find any laws were violated — especially ones that involve domestic violence or potential misuse of Mills’ office for personal gain — those cases should immediately be handed off to federal or local prosecutors in the District of Columbia or Florida.
Then members of Congress can prove they’ve learned something by the Mills debacle, and all the other examples of shoddy ethical lapses we’ve been bombarded with recently. U.S. Rep Kat Cammack, R-Gainesville, said Tuesday she planned to introduce bipartisan legislation that would make ethics investigations more politics-proof and straightforward. “Anything that can’t actually hold people accountable isn’t reform, and I’m not interested in reform that’s just for show,” she said.
Cammack, who was one of the first House Republicans with the courage to speak out about Mills, should push hard for changes. District 7 voters had to write their own ending to Mills’ story after they were cheated out of prompt, transparent action on the mountain of allegations he faced. This should not happen again.
The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Use insight@orlandosentinel.com to contact us.