Gov. Ron DeSantis offered his support for Ryan Elijah a day after the Sanford Republican defeated U.S. Rep. Cory Mills in a GOP Primary. He cited Elijah’s broadcast career and trust voters place in local journalists.
The rapid endorsement of Elijah came after DeSantis publicly refused to back Mills as he seeks a third term. Mills this election cycle suffered a series of personal scandals involving a live-in girlfriend called police over a domestic incident in Washington, and another former ex who said the Congressman threatened to distribute intimate images.
“I said last week, I am not supporting Cory Mills. For obvious reasons,” DeSantis said.
“I think had Republican voters nominated him, we had a great chance of losing that seat to the Democratic candidate. That district is not — you know, it’s not Panama City, right, in terms of how red it is. You can look back in ‘22 and, you know, I probably won it big. But in terms of this environment, I thought it was a big risk.”
Mills won the seat in 2022 when it was an open seat, but it was previously represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, albeit in a different configuration more favorable to Democrats. Still, in the current political environment, the district is a target of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Last week, DeSantis didn’t direct voters to anyone else in the four-candidate Republican Primary in Florida’s 7th Congressional District. The Governor told voters on Wednesday he didn’t know all the candidates so he said only that he could not back Mills.
But now that Republican voters have entrusted the former Fox 35 anchor with the nomination, DeSantis said he’s a worthy choice. The Governor noted that First Lady Casey DeSantis worked in local news in Northeast Florida before his own election to Congress in 2012.
While the Governor has often sparred with Florida media from the podium, he acknowledged the level of public trust enjoyed particularly by those in broadcast media.
“A lot of the national media isn’t trusted, but people still do like a lot of their local people, because they’re not, I don’t think, as agenda-driven as the D.C. and New York reporters are,” DeSantis said.
He said voters certainly should trust Elijah.
“I’m supporting him,” DeSantis said. “I don’t know him, but I think he’s a good guy.”
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A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics contributed to this report.
Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].
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