Rep. Cory Mills had President Donald Trump’s endorsement, two terms in Congress and a seat Republicans were still expected to favor in November. Ryan Elijah still beat him.
The former television journalist won Tuesday’s Republican primary in Florida’s 7th Congressional District, ending Mills’ re-election bid after allegations involving possible domestic violence, campaign finance violations and a separate Justice Department probe became central to the race.
Preliminary results showed Elijah with 46.9% of the vote to Mills’ 34.4% with roughly 84% reported. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 7:53 p.m. ET.
Mills denied the allegations and argued they were politically motivated, but his challengers kept them in front of Republican voters.
Elijah campaigned heavily on the claims against Mills, while veteran Michael Don Johnson, who had previously challenged the incumbent, also made Mills’ controversies a central focus.
Decision Desk HQ projects Ryan Elijah wins the Florida US House 7 Republican Primary#DecisionMade: 7:53 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/TvJjVyAgSK
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) August 18, 2026
Businesswoman Sarah Ulrich ran as a socially conservative alternative in the four-way GOP primary.
The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation last November into Mills over allegations that included possible domestic violence and campaign finance violations.
The Department of Justice opened a criminal probe last month in connection with his finances.
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Trump had endorsed Mills in February, handing the embattled incumbent the party’s most coveted political stamp.
Inside Florida, however, Mills did not have a united Republican front.
Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos, both Florida Republicans, endorsed Elijah.
Several Florida sheriffs also backed the challenger, and Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week that he did not support Mills.
Trump did not publicly campaign for Mills in the final days of the primary.
Elijah now moves into a November race against Democratic nominee Bale Dalton, who defeated former congressman Alan Grayson and progressive Navy veteran Marialana Kinter.
Democrats have identified Florida’s 7th Congressional District as a possible pickup opportunity, although the seat remains expected to favor the GOP.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report changed its rating for the district from “safe” Republican to “likely” Republican. The district is rated R+5.
Mills’ loss gave Trump one failed endorsement in Florida on a night when another Trump-backed Republican from the state had a very different result.
Rep. Byron Donalds won the Republican nomination for governor Tuesday, moving into a general-election matchup to succeed DeSantis.
Decision Desk HQ called that race at 8 p.m. ET, with Donalds leading at about 49% after more than half the vote had been counted.
Lt. Gov. Jay Collins followed with 25%, while businessman James Fishback had 10%.
Donalds has represented Florida’s 19th Congressional District in Washington since 2021 and ran his gubernatorial campaign around Trump-aligned issues, including illegal immigration, “woke ideology” in schools and opposition to Cuba’s communist regime.
Trump praised Donalds on Truth Social with the kind of full-throated endorsement Mills did not receive in the primary’s closing days.
“I know Byron well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a TOTAL WINNER,” Trump wrote.
“Byron Donalds will be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”
Donalds will face Democratic nominee David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who later became a Democrat.
Jolly represented Florida’s 13th Congressional District from 2014 to 2017 before losing the general election to Democratic challenger Charlie Crist. He later began voicing disagreements with the direction of the GOP and Trump.
“Since the emergence of Donald Trump in 2015 when he came down the escalator, he has disrupted the entire American experiment over the last 10 years,” Jolly said in a campaign video.
Jolly lists insurance affordability, public schools and campaign finance reform among his top priorities. He also supports increasing access to abortion.
Trump also took a loss in Wyoming, where his preferred candidate to succeed term-limited Gov. Mark Gordon was projected to fall short.
GOP state Sen. Eric Barlow was set to defeat Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder and three other Republican candidates, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Degenfelder had also been endorsed by Wyoming’s only member of the House, Rep. Harriet Hageman.
Hageman was projected to advance in a different race, setting up a November Senate contest against former state Rep. James Byrd, a Democrat, according to Decision Desk HQ.
The race is for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Cynthia Lummis.
Trump endorsed Hageman for that race and praised her in a December Truth Social post.
“Harriet has ALWAYS delivered for Wyoming, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote.
The Cook Political Report rated the Senate race “solidly Republican.” Wyoming voters supported Trump by a wide margin in the past three presidential elections.
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray was projected to win the GOP primary for the state’s at-large House seat.
Former state Senate Minority Leader Lisa F. Kinney was projected to win the Democratic nomination Tuesday.
If Gray wins later this year, he will succeed Hageman.
