Cory Mills triumphed over Republican primary competition for Florida’s 7th Congressional District on Tuesday.
The seat was left open after incumbent Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), a member of the House Jan. 6 committee widely regarded as a centrist, declined to pursue reelection last year, citing personal sacrifices she had to make during her tenure.
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Mills, a defense contractor, had quickly emerged as one of the top Republicans in a crowded field of eight major contestants alongside state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, former Navy SEAL Brady Duke. Since Murphy’s exit from the fray, Sunshine State Republicans have molded the contours of the district into a GOP-friendly fixture, giving Mills favorable odds in the general election.
Throughout the Republican primary, the main contenders have touted their “Make America Great Again” bona fides and peddled claims that the 2020 election was subject to malfeasance.
Additional Republicans in the primary battle included small business owner Erika Benfield, attorney Ted Edwards, transportation expert Rusty Roberts, business owner Armando Santos, and businessman Scott Sturgill.
Despite an adverse apportionment outlook, Democrats managed to attract a field of four hoping to defend Murphy’s seat. This included Hilsia Fernandez, president of Pantera Technical Services; Karen Green, president of Bluefield Consultants; Al Krulick, a retired editor and four-time congressional contender; and Allek Pastrana, who works in information security.
Green ultimately clinched the Democratic nod Tuesday night.
During the campaign, many of the top Democrats harped on concerns such as abortion access, hoping that backlash against the overturning of Roe v. Wade could spur enough support from independents to stave off national Republican headwinds and the unfavorable redistricting outlook for Democrats.
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The decennial redistricting process left the seat with a 14-point GOP partisan lean, a stark change from the 5-point Democratic lean under the prior map, per FiveThirtyEight. The Republican-led state legislature bumped the district’s boundaries back eastward so that it now hugs a sliver of the coast of Florida and seeps north into Volusia County.
Sabato’s Crystal Ball ranks the district as a safe Republican seat heading into the general election.
