Florida — 7th District

President Donald Trump threw his weight behind seven Republican incumbent members of the U.S. House, including scandal-plagued Cory Mills of New Smyrna Beach, on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

In addition to Mills, Trump posted endorsements on his Truth Social platform for U.S. Reps. Aaron Bean in Florida's 4th District, John Rutherford (5th), Daniel Webster (11th), Brian Mast (21st), María Elvira Salazar (27th) and Carlos Gimenez (28th).

Mills, who represents the 7th District in Seminole and southern Volusia counties, is facing an ongoing ethics investigation and was slapped in 2025 with a temporary protective injunction by a Florida judge against dating violence after his ex-girlfriend alleged he threatened to release intimate videos between the two, while former soldiers who served with Mills in the Army have accused him of stolen valor.

The injunction, which was issued in October, is no longer in force.

Many Republicans were angry with him, as well, when he voted against the censure of Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, a frequent Trump target.

Trump posted this: "Congressman Cory Mills is an America First Patriot and Tremendous Champion for the Great People of Florida's 7th Congressional District!"

Trump called Mills - who recently said at a town hall in New Smyrna Beach that his business is struggling - a "Successful Entrepreneur," while also praising Mills' Bronze Star and positions on securing the U.S.-Mexico border, cutting taxes and regulations, safeguarding elections, and defending the Second Amendment.

"Cory Mills has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election − HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!" the post states.

Mills reposted the message on X, writing: "Thank you @POTUS for your complete and total endorsement. I will continue to fight for Florida’s 7th District, our great republic, and always put America First."

What are opponents saying about Trump's endorsement of Mills?

Mills has drawn two Republican primary challengers thus far: Sarah Ulrich, a Port Orange businesswoman, and Mike Johnson, an Altamonte Springs retiree from the Department of Defense and a Vietnam-era Army veteran.

Johnson, who campaigned against Mills in the 2024 primary by expressing concerns about stolen valor, said by phone that Trump has been "highly misinformed" about Mills' military record.

"All the soldiers that knew him within his medical unit and with the 1st Battalion all know he was not a combat hero," Johnson said.

"With Trump endorsing Mills and some of the others ... it shows me that his team around him helping him do that are either misinformed or ignorant of the truth about what these candidates are about," Johnson said.

Ulrich said in an emailed response voters in the 7th District are "keenly aware" of Mills' scandals, and she chose to run to offer voters a better choice. The endorsement came because Mills has been "loyal" and "obedient" to Trump, she said.

"The people of this district need a Representative who is obedient to God, loyal to them, and whose conduct in public and behind closed doors is becoming of the office," Ulrich said.

She responded to Trump's declaration that Mills "WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN," saying: "Mr. President, he has already let us down. ... Those who support the unethical and violent behavior of the incumbent only add to the betrayal many in the district have already expressed."

Three Democrats are also running against Mills: Navy Reserve captain and former NASA Chief of Staff Bale Dalton; Jennifer Adams, a court mediator who lost to Mills in 2024, and Navy veteran Marialana Kinter.

Dalton responded to a text seeking comment: "Congressman Mills has voted again and again to make life harder for Floridians by jacking up costs and making health insurance unaffordable. What he has delivered are countless ethics scandals. I look forward to giving Central Florida a better option in November."