As allegations of sexual misconduct, questions about his military record and campaign finance violations surrounded Florida Republican Rep. Cory Mills, House Republican leadership, the White House and the majority of the GOP conference publicly stayed behind him.
But Rep. Mike Haridopolos, a freshman member of the Florida delegation, grew concerned.
He worked behind the scenes to recruit a primary challenger in Florida’s 7th Congressional District, and despite little public support from Republican colleagues, he helped engineer Mills’ defeat.
A former president of the Florida state Senate, Haridopolos had seen this movie before. He believed Mills was more than a flawed incumbent -– he posed a threat to the majority. While Haridopolos believed Mills could fend off a primary challenge, he predicted he would struggle in the general election.
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“I’ve been involved in Florida politics for over 25 years and within a swing seat like that, if you don’t have a really solid candidate, in what could be a tough year for us, I knew it was an absolute loser,” Haridopolos told NOTUS. “And we did not want to give away a seat when we’re trying to pick up seats and keep the majority.”
Mills has faced a series of controversies in the past year. NOTUS reported in 2025 about discrepancies surrounding Mills’ Bronze Star award from the Army. Army soldiers cited in the document submitting Mills for the honor said they had no recollection of Mills actually being present in the incidents listed. NOTUS also reported last year that while he was a candidate in 2021, Mills was caught with sex workers in Tbilisi, Georgia, while on a rescue mission to Afghanistan.
More recently, Mills was accused of domestic violence by one partner and separately received a restraining order from an ex-girlfriend. Both the House Ethics Committee and Department of Justice are investigating him.
Haridopolos said he believed “it was incumbent upon me” to find a candidate to take on Mills in the primary. So, he approached Ryan Elijah, a former TV news anchor.
“Ryan and I have always talked about him potentially running, and we’d had conversations and he was ready to step up and really make sure his community was well represented in Congress,” Haridopolos said. “And to his credit, he ran a really positive race and was willing to ask the tough questions.”
Elijah officially announced in April. But it was still a long-shot bid. While taking on an incumbent is always a daunting task, there were three other candidates working to knock off Mills as well that could split the vote and hurt his chances. While Haridopolos worked the ground and campaigned in Florida, back in Washington, D.C., he was also working behind the scenes.
The freshman Florida Republican took the temperature of his colleagues to determine if there was any appetite for a group to publicly come out against Mills, sources told NOTUS.
Haridopolos looped in leadership about his efforts.
“I was very candid with them from Day 1 that I felt strongly that we needed someone and they understood the situation, and they let me do what I wanted to do,” Haridopolos said.
He focused on members of his delegation and attempted to get them behind Elijah. While he only got one, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, she is arguably one of the most vocal members of the delegation.
“I have great relationships with my fellow members in the delegation, and I was just really candid with them. And I said, ‘Look, I’m just going to let you know I’m going to get involved in this race because I’m really concerned about the majority,’” Haridopolos said. “And Anna came on board and did an amazing job helping out and really elevating the conversation.”
As a freshman, campaigning against one of his delegation members could’ve caused a massive political blowback for Haridopolos if Mills would have won. But Elijah defeated Mills by 13 percentage points, and Republican leaders avoided the headache of defending an incumbent with baggage in November. He is expected to face Democratic candidate Bale Dalton in the general election, according to the Associated Press
“For the team I think this will put us in a really strong position in an R+5 seat to hold the seat without having to spend tens of millions of dollars to hold the seat,” Haridopolos said. “And we have a person that you know could hold his head up high and run a really positive campaign, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.”
Haridopolos hasn’t heard from Mills since he publicly endorsed Elijah in early August and doesn’t have any plans to talk with him.
“I chose not to engage,” he said. “I wanted Ryan to stay positive and not make it about anyone but Ryan Elijah, and to his credit, again, he ran a fantastic race and his community truly lifted him up tonight.”
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