Key facts
- Decision Desk HQ projected Ryan Elijah would take 49.7% of the vote to Bale Dalton's 49.2%.
- Elijah, a former WOFL-TV anchor in Orlando for 13 years, beat Rep. Cory Mills in the August GOP primary by 13 percentage points.
- Dalton is a Navy Reserve captain who served as chief of staff at NASA under former Administrator Bill Nelson.
- The House Ethics Committee has investigated Mills since November 2025 over dating violence and campaign finance allegations, which Mills denies.
- Trump endorsed Elijah after the primary, saying the former host of "Good Day Orlando" stood for "EVERYTHING MAGA."
Ryan Elijah, a Republican and former news anchor at WOFL-TV in Orlando, is projected to defeat Democrat Bale Dalton in Florida's 7th Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ. The projection gave Elijah 49.7% of the vote to Dalton's 49.2%.
Elijah will succeed Rep. Cory Mills, whom he beat by 13 percentage points in the August Republican primary. President Trump said after that primary that he had told Mills to drop out of the race, and Trump later endorsed Elijah, saying the former host of "Good Day Orlando" and "Orlando Matters" stood for "EVERYTHING MAGA."
The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Mills since November 2025 over allegations of dating violence and violations of campaign finance law. Mills has denied the allegations.
Dalton is a captain in the Navy Reserve who served as chief of staff at NASA under former Administrator Bill Nelson. Elijah campaigned on boosting America's energy independence, curtailing government spending and protecting beaches in the district, which sits on the Atlantic coast in central Florida.
Elijah's victory means a Republican will represent the 7th District for a third consecutive term. State GOP lawmakers left the district unchanged in the new congressional map they passed earlier this year.