Though Republican Rep. Cory Mills has long insisted that he’s done nothing wrong, the incumbent Florida congressman has been at the center of several scandals. Last fall, a judge issued a restraining order against him for “protection against dating violence” after his ex-girlfriend accused him of threatening and harassing her. As recently as last month, MS NOW reported that Mills is also facing a federal criminal investigation, though he denied any knowledge of the probe.
With this in mind, some prominent GOP officials in the Sunshine State, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, decided to back Mills’ primary rival, Ryan Elijah, a former local news anchor.
Donald Trump, however, did not. The president published an endorsement in support of the scandal-plagued incumbent in February, writing on his social media platform, “Congressman Cory Mills is an America First Patriot and Tremendous Champion for the Great People of Florida’s 7th Congressional District! … Cory Mills has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”
Primary voters were apparently unpersuaded. MS NOW reported:
Ryan Elijah, a former news anchor, is projected to win the Republican primary for the 7th Congressional District in Florida, defeating the scandal-plagued incumbent, Rep. Cory Mills.
Mills was seen as one of the most vulnerable incumbent House Republicans in Florida. He faces allegations of sexual misconduct, domestic violence, campaign finance violations and misrepresenting his military service. He has denied wrongdoing and suggested that the accusations are politically motivated.
The contest was not especially close: With just about all of the ballots tallied, Elijah appears to have defeated Mills by roughly 13 points. (Mills is also the 11th House member to lose in a primary this year, setting a pace unseen in over a half-century.)
Making matters slightly worse for the president, this wasn’t the only race this week in which the candidate he endorsed came up short. In Wyoming’s gubernatorial race, Trump repeatedly urged Republicans to support state Superintendent Megan Degenfelder, who ended up losing badly to state Sen. Eric Barlow, and in Florida’s 19th Congressional District, Trump repeatedly endorsed Catalina Lauf, who lost by roughly 7 points to talk radio station owner Jim Schwartzel.
All of this comes just one week after Trump-endorsed election denier and pillow salesman Mike Lindell suffered a double-digit defeat in Minnesota’s gubernatorial primary, which came less than a week after Rep. Andy Ogles lost a GOP primary in Tennessee, despite enjoying the president’s support.
Just two days earlier, former federal law enforcement officer Amir Hassan, having received a presidential endorsement, lost a Republican congressional primary in Michigan by a wide margin to a candidate who wasn’t actually running at the time.
For those keeping score, six Trump-backed Republicans have lost in primaries over the course of just two weeks.
What’s more, in Iowa’s gubernatorial race in June, Trump threw his support behind Rep. Randy Feenstra, who narrowly lost his Republican primary to Zach Lahn. Two weeks later, the president endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in Georgia’s gubernatorial primary, and Jones lost to healthcare executive Rick Jackson by roughly 5 points.
All told, 10 Republicans have failed in 2026 primaries, despite enjoying the incumbent president’s support.
This clearly is at odds with the image the White House is eager to present. Indeed, Trump has repeatedly professed an ability to choose election winners single-handedly, especially in Republican primaries. Last September, for example, the president said, “Do you know, almost every single person I’ve endorsed has won? I can’t think of anyone who hasn’t. If I endorse a person, they win. … With the Republican Party, it’s like 399-0. Think of that.”
As recently as March, he added, “My Endorsements within the Republican Party have been virtually insurmountable! It is such an honor to realize and say that almost everyone I Endorse WINS, and wins by a lot.”
Months later, the words “virtually” and “almost” stand out.
Trump is not the political colossus he has long claimed to be. On the contrary, he’s an unpopular lame duck who’s finding that his own party’s rank-and-file supporters are disregarding his endorsements with increasing frequency.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
The post As another House Republican loses, Trump’s endorsement woes get even worse appeared first on MS NOW.
