A new Democrat has emerged in the 2026 race for Florida’s 7th Congressional District, a seat held by Republican Cory Mills.
Bale Dalton, a Navy veteran of 23 years and a former NASA chief of staff, announced on Nov. 17 that he is entering a race already populated by three other Democrats. The primary election will be Aug. 18, 2026.
Dalton, who achieved the Navy rank of captain, released a campaign video in which he described some of his service overseas.
“When you fly medevac helicopters in the Navy, success is measured in moments,” Dalton said in the video. “Our mission was to help Americans get back to safety, and when every moment matters, you don’t stop to ask: ‘Are they Democrat or Republican?’ All of this stuff they’re using to divide us means nothing when you’re focused on serving your country.”
Bale Dalton served in Iraq, Afghanistan
In the video, Dalton said he flew special operations missions in Iraq and fought the Taliban in Afghanistan as part of his 13 years on active duty. He also served in the Navy Reserves.
“And I led a squadron of 400 patriots in the fight against al-Qaeda and ISIS throughout the world,” Dalton said. “And then I helped lead NASA, serving with tens of thousands of people who showed the world every day what Americans can accomplish when we work together.”
Dalton, 45, grew up in Orlando as the son of U.S. District Court Senior Judge Roy Bale Dalton, Jr. He graduated from Edgewater High School in 1998 before heading to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in ocean engineering in 2002.
Dalton also has a master of public policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Cory Mills ‘makes me mad as hell,’ Bale Dalton says
Dalton — like his three Democratic rivals — hit Mills over recent scandals, including his House Committee on Ethics investigation, his involvement in a Washington, D.C., police assault investigation involving a live-in girlfriend, and a restraining order issued against him by a judge after his ex-girlfriend alleged he threatened to release “intimate videos,” and harm her future love interests if she did not reconcile with him. Finally, Mills has faced stolen-valor accusations from former soldiers and military contractor colleagues that he has not been truthful about his service.
“It makes me mad as hell to see politicians looking after themselves, rather than the folks back home,” Dalton said in the ad. “Take our current Congressman, Cory Mills.
“Instead of lowering costs for us at home, he sold weapons to foreign countries who may mean us harm. Instead of tackling the deficit, he’s making money off government contracts while a sitting member of Congress. With Congressman Mills, we’re not sending our best to represent us, and in this moment, we need to.”
Mills did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. He has not said much about the ethics investigation, which is ongoing, but in September he predicted: “I don’t see this going anywhere.” D.C. Metro police did not charge Mills in the assault case. Mills said accusations by his ex-girlfriend, Miss United States Lindsey Langston, that he was cyberstalking and harassing her was “nothing more than a breakup,” and “things were taken out of context.” He has called the “stolen valor” accusations “slander” and “defamation.”
The others challenging Mills from the Democratic side are lawyer Noah Widmann; mediator Jennifer Adams; and Marialana Kinter, also a U.S. Navy veteran.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Former NASA chief of staff Bale Dalton launches challenge to Cory Mills
Reporting by Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
