Four candidates are running in the Republican primary for Florida's 7th Congressional District on August 18, 2026. Two candidates have led in media attention: Incumbent Cory Mills (R) and Ryan Elijah (R).

Mills has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since 2025. According to Politico's Hailey Fuchs, Mills "allegedly held weapons contracts with the federal government while serving in Congress, according to a report from the Office of Congressional Conduct." On November 19, 2025, the House Ethics Committee voted to establish a committee to investigate allegations of violations of campaign finance law and allegations of misconduct. Mills faced calls to resign over the investigation and withdraw his re-election bid, but denied wrongdoing, saying, "Anything [the committee] asked of us, we’ve complied. Why not let the investigating body and the Ethics Committee to be able to do their jobs? ... We’re very happy to see what the outcome is."

Elijah said the investigation against Mills could make him vulnerable in the general election, saying, "We need to make sure that we have [Mills' allegations] figured out when we have the election in November. You know with independents and with some of those voters that may not be on the far right." Mills has pointed to President Donald Trump's (R) endorsement as evidence he was still favored, saying, "I mean, the President obviously sees that I’m fit to serve, which is why I’m the only endorsed candidate in the entire race." In 2024, Trump won the district with 55% of the vote to Kamala Harris' (D) 43%.

Mills was first elected in 2022. He is campaigning on his record, saying in office he "lead[s] the entire state of Florida in constituent services. We just surpassed $100 million in constituent services from SSI, disability, Treasury, FEMA, IRS, etc. Over 6,000 cases since I’ve come here." Mills is also campaigning on keeping the size of government small, and said he would "keep fighting to protect economic liberty, eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensure Americans keep more of what they earn."

Elijah is a former newscaster for WOFL in Orlando. In his responses to Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, he said his experience gave him connections throughout the district, and said on public safety, "I will build on strong law enforcement connections to listen to their needs and make sure they have the federal assistance they need." Elijah also campaigned on reducing the number of government regulations, and said if elected, he would "support sound economic policies, including lower taxes and less regulation."

Michael Johnson (R) and Sarah Ulrich (R) are also running.

Florida redrew its maps prior to the election. This district was not one of them. To read more on which districts were redrawn, click here.