For more than a year, Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) has survived one revelation after another. Questions about his marriage, military record, stories of being wounded in Iraq, allegations involving the abuse and blackmail of women, concerns over his businesses and finances, and a House Ethics Committee investigation have all emerged.
Mills remained defiant throughout these challenges, dismissing reports as attacks and accusing reporters of spreading falsehoods. When questions arose about his marriage and religious history, Mills became combative and raised the prospect of litigation. His spokeswoman responded to allegations of significant contradictions in his public record with the phrase “All gossip.”
The voters of Florida’s 7th Congressional District rendered a different verdict on Tuesday night, as Mills lost the Republican primary to former television anchor Ryan Elijah, who secured approximately 47% of the vote compared to Mills’ 34%.
The result was not attributable to any single news organization or investigation. Mills faced scrutiny from law enforcement, congressional investigators, political opponents, journalists, and ultimately members of his own party.
Investigative reporters traced back to a February 2025 domestic disturbance call involving Mills, which revealed he remained legally married and undergoing divorce. This led to the discovery of a 2014 Virginia marriage certificate showing Mills had been married by Mohammed Al-Hanooti, a radical Islamic cleric identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas financing case and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing plot.
Mills confirmed the marriage to reporters but denied converting to Islam and stated he was unaware of Al-Hanooti’s background. However, five former associates later told reporters that Mills had claimed to have converted to Islam.
The marital alliance also led to Mills and Al Saadi entering the international arms business together, building the company PACEM into a substantial defense interest. This raised questions about Mills’ relationship with the company after he entered Congress and his financial disclosures, matters already under scrutiny by congressional ethics investigators.
Mills had built much of his political identity around military experience and described himself as having been “WOUNDED TWICE WHILE DEPLOYED” in Iraq. However, former colleagues disputed key aspects of his account, including descriptions of his military qualifications and the events during two roadside bomb incidents.
Scott Kempkins, who was actually wounded in one of the explosions Mills referred to, told reporters that Mills could not have been wounded because Mills’ vehicle was already about 50 yards away. Chase Nash, a passenger in Mills’ vehicle at the time, stated: “Cory was not wounded.”
Mills himself provided damaging evidence against his own campaign claims. His 2022 ad declared he was “WOUNDED TWICE WHILE DEPLOYED.” When pressed on both incidents, Mills claimed he hit his head inside an armored vehicle in the first explosion and suffered a concussion before returning to work within three days. For the second incident, he acknowledged not being inside the vehicle that was struck and stated: “No, I wasn’t wounded.”
The investigation took a darker turn when Lindsey Langston, then Miss United States and a Republican official in Florida, accused Mills of threatening to distribute intimate videos after their relationship ended. Langston described incidents involving money and bags of cash at their shared home. A Florida judge granted her a restraining order against Mills.
With the 2026 midterms approaching, Mills appeared poised to survive his controversies. However, political support began to erode as the scandals accumulated. Mills entered the primary under an active House Ethics Committee investigation, while prominent Florida Republicans, including Anna Paulina Luna, abandoned him in favor of Ryan Elijah. President Trump, despite earlier endorsing Mills, omitted him from a new slate of Florida endorsements.
