Florida Republican Rep. Cory Mills lost his bid for renomination Tuesday, bringing his time in Congress closer to an end despite receiving a public endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Mills, who was seeking a third term representing Florida’s 7th Congressional District, was defeated in the Republican primary by Ryan Elijah. The result marked a significant setback for the incumbent, particularly given Trump’s continued influence in Republican primaries across the country.
The loss also came after a politically costly vote by Mills involving Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
Mills cast a key vote that allowed Omar to keep her committee assignments after Republicans sought to remove her over comments she made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination on Sept. 10 of last year.
Omar criticized Kirk the day after his death during an appearance with former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan. While discussing Kirk’s political record, she pointed to his support for gun rights and comments he had made about George Floyd.
“What I do know for sure is that, you know, Charlie was someone who once said, you know, guns save lives after a school shooting,” Omar said.
The 7 Articles and 27 Amendments of our Constitution are not followed only when it serves your purpose. Unlike with Rep McIver, whom is accused of assault and obstruction of LEO, which I supported not to table, this is a 1A issue. We may not like or agree with what someone says,… https://t.co/GcyfKY5vdu
— Cory Mills (@CoryMillsFL) September 17, 2025
She also accused Kirk of having been willing to “debate and downplay” Floyd’s death while in Minneapolis police custody.
A week later, during an appearance on CNN, Omar said Kirk belonged in the “dustbin of history.”
Those comments fueled calls from Republicans to strip Omar of her committee assignments. Mills, however, opposed the effort and defended his position as a matter of constitutional principle.
In a statement posted to X, Mills argued that constitutional protections cannot be applied only when politically convenient.
Ilhan Omar says Charlie Kirk should be left “in the dust bin of history”
She echoed the assassin’s words, claiming he “spread hate”
She refused to apologize for sharing a video that called him “Dr. Frankenstein” and said “his monster shot him through the neck” pic.twitter.com/KWxOiib51M
— Ryan Saavedra (@RyanSaavedra) September 20, 2025
“The 7 Articles and 27 Amendments of our Constitution are not followed only when it serves your purpose,” Mills wrote.
He continued by saying that disagreement with someone’s speech was not enough to justify punishing that person for exercising First Amendment rights.
“We may not like or agree with what someone says, but that does not mean we should deny their protected 1A Right,” Mills said.
The vote angered some conservatives, particularly those who believed Omar’s comments about Kirk crossed a line so soon after his killing. For Mills, the controversy became another issue he had to defend while campaigning for another term.
Decision Desk HQ projects Ryan Elijah wins the Florida US House 7 Republican Primary#DecisionMade: 7:53 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/TvJjVyAgSK
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) August 18, 2026
His reelection effort was also complicated by allegations from a former girlfriend, who filed a police report accusing Mills of threatening to release intimate photos and videos of her following the end of their relationship.
Mills denied the allegations and rejected calls for him to withdraw from the race.
Taken together, the controversies created an unusually difficult primary environment for a Republican incumbent who had the backing of Trump. In the end, that endorsement was not enough to overcome the opposition Mills faced inside his own district.
Ryan Elijah’s victory means Republican voters in Florida’s 7th District will send a new nominee into the general election, while Mills becomes one of the incumbent House members rejected by primary voters during this election cycle.
