A new Republican is emerging as a challenger to Florida Congressman Cory Mills, and he’s a familiar face to viewers of Fox 35’s “Good Day Orlando.”
Ryan Elijah resigned about two weeks ago from WFOL, where he had worked since 2012, in order to run, he told The News-Journal in an April 28 interview.
Elijah said he had people contact him to discuss running for the seat starting about a year ago.
“When I started making the phone calls to law enforcement, to small business owners, I think that’s when I realized you don’t know how you’re going to be perceived until you present yourself that way,” Elijah said. “There was a lot of support there, and that’s what I’m seeing on social media today. It’s been kind of overwhelming, to be quite honest.
Records show Elijah, a 54-year-old Fort Wayne, Indiana, native, lives in Sanford and is registered to vote in Seminole County. The 7th District includes all of Seminole and the southern half of Volusia County.
“We must have a representative in Washington who puts your needs first,” Elijah said in a news release. “I have raised my family in the district for 14 years and will make hardworking families, small businesses, and safe communities my number one priority.”
What does Ryan Elijah have to say about challenging Cory Mills?
Elijah was asked if the controversies swirling around Mills — an ethics investigation, questions about his finances and military record, a restraining order against him after an ex-girlfriend accused him of cyberstalking her, and threatening to release sex videos if she didn’t resume dating him, and more — played a role in his decision to enter.
“That’s a tough one to answer. At the beginning, no,” Elijah said. “You always look, ‘Can I do a better job to lead this district,’ and you always start comparing yourself.”
Support from those urging him to run may have been part of that calculus, Elijah said.
“Obviously I’m paired up against him,” Elijah said. “All of my phone calls today, and a lot of my phone calls to supporters have been: This is what I’m going to do, and that’s what I’m focused on, knowing his situation is a little bit unique.”
Does Elijah join those calling for Mills to be expelled from the House?
Unlike some of the Democrats who have been calling on Mills to resign or be expelled from Congress, Elijah’s announcement didn’t mention the congressman’s troubles.
In the interview, he said he supports the House ethics subcommittee investigating Mills to continue its work.
“I’ll say this. The accusations are serious,” Elijah said. “These are accusations that he abused his office. He obviously showed that he was going to fight through last week.
“I’m not going to call for him to step down. At this point, as I’ve gotten in, if it doesn’t happen in Congress, and right now, it’s based kind of in their hands, and right now I think the voters of the 7th District will decide.”
Does Ryan Elijah support the U.S. war in Iran?
Elijah didn’t commit to a position on President Donald Trump’s two-month-old war in Iran.
“Well, I think if it makes the world a safer place, and they don’t have nuclear weapons, yes,” Elijah said. “Obviously, not being in Congress, we’re not privy to some of the information they had.
“It seems like a lot of America is split, and I think they at least want to at least see a finish where the Middle East and the U.S. is a safer spot, and we’ve accomplished our mission,” he said. “But it’s difficult, because people are pretty split on that, especially the longer it goes on.”
Cory Mills remains under investigation by ethics subcommittee
Mills, who’s in his second term, is under investigation by a House Ethics subcommittee on six allegations:
Mills has been accused by former Army colleagues of stolen valor. Last October he was issued a temporary restraining order ordering him not to contact a former ex-girlfriend who had accused him of threatening to release sex videos if she didn’t continue seeing him and threatening to beat up any love interests she might have.
GOP field challenging Mills getting crowded
Mills has two other opponents in the GOP primary: Michael Johnson, a retired Department of Defense executive who served in the U.S. Army, and Sarah Ulrich, a mom and seventh-generation Floridian who has worked in finance and real estate.
Democrats also in running in 7th
Democrat Bale Dalton, who has outraised Mills by a 4-to-1 margin since entering the race, is a captain in the Navy Reserve who served in Afghanistan and Iraq during a 23-year career following graduation from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He is also the former NASA chief of staff under former Administrator Bill Nelson. Dalton is being challenged in the Democratic primary by Marialana Kinter, also a Navy veteran.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Fox 35 host resigns to challenge Cory Mills for Congress
Reporting by Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
