Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) endorsed the challenger to Florida colleague Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), who is facing accusations of domestic assault and a Justice Department investigation.
Luna and Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) endorsed news anchor Ryan Elijah in his bid against Mills in a joint statement Wednesday. The statement does not mention Mills by name, but the pair wrote, in part, “We need leaders in Congress who serve with integrity, energy, and an unwavering commitment to the people who sent them there.”
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“Ryan Elijah is that leader,” the Florida Republicans wrote. “We are confident he will represent our shared values with distinction and deliver results for the families of Seminole and Volusia Counties.”
In response to Luna and Haridopolos’s backing of Elijah, Mills touted President Donald Trump’s support of his reelection bid, saying the president has supported him “not once, not twice, but three times.”
“I’m proud to have earned his trust because he knows I’ll continue fighting to advance the America First agenda and deliver results,” Mills said. “The fact is, my office has returned more than $107 million to the people of Florida’s 7th District, led Florida in constituent services, built one of the strongest conservative voting records in Congress, and flipped this district from blue to red, and kept it red. My record speaks for itself.”
The endorsements come weeks after news broke that Mills is under a DOJ investigation. It is unclear why the DOJ is investigating Mills, and the agency did not respond to a request for comment. However, the FBI reportedly reached out to at least one person about Mills’s finances last year.
Mills, who has faced censure and expulsion efforts in the House, has been accused of domestic violence, stolen valor, and financial misconduct. Mills has denied any wrongdoing.
In the House, the Florida Republican is under a congressional investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which has been investigating Mills since August 2024. The House inquiry includes a February 2025 incident in which Mills was allegedly involved in domestic violence.
Mills has also faced allegations of campaign finance violations and misrepresenting his military record.
While the embattled Florida Republican has faced censure and expulsion efforts from his peers, no official vote has been taken against Mills. Luna accused House leadership in 2025 of cutting “back-end deals to cover up public corruption in the House of Representatives” after a vote to censure a Democrat failed and an effort to censure Mills was referred to the Ethics Committee.
Elijah, a former news anchor for Fox 35 Orlando, announced his bid against Mills in April. After the revelation that Mills is under a DOJ inquiry, Elijah called on Mills to withdraw from the race, writing in a post on X that the “bad headlines must stop.”
CORY MILLS UNDER DOJ INVESTIGATION AMID MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS
“The people in Seminole and Volusia counties deserve better,” Elijah wrote.
Mills and Elijah are set to appear on the debate stage together Wednesday evening alongside Republicans Sarah Ulrich and Michael Johnson, who are also vying to unseat Mills.
