Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) is attributing a dismal second-quarter fundraising haul to his willingness to self-fund campaigns, but federal records contradict that narrative.
According to reporting by Florida Politics, Mills closed the quarter with just $81,000 cash on hand after raising under $61,000 — a notably weak performance for an incumbent heading into a competitive Republican primary while under active House Ethics probe. (Other summaries place the cash-on-hand figure slightly higher at around $110k–$115k.)
In a statement to Sources Say News, Mills said: “I funded my last race at over $2M and happily prepared to fund again. While our economy is coming back under President Trump many Americans continue to struggle. I’m not going to take money from those who need it when I’ve been blessed to fund myself.”
Mills only self-funded his 2022 race, not his previous race in 2024. That 2024 campaign raised a grand total of less than $2 million — about $1.6 million — with $50,000 from Mills himself shortly after he took office and weeks after securing a $2 million bridge loan to sell his house, which was fully collateralized for business loans that his company later sued the government over and lost.
Further complicating Mills’ defense, the Office of Congressional Conduct previously found “substantial reason to believe” he misrepresented the source of certain allegedly personal campaign loans to the FEC. Those issues are now part of the broader House Ethics probe.
Politically, Mills’ position is increasingly precarious. In the Republican primary, former Orlando news anchor Ryan Elijah has emerged as a serious challenger, outraising every GOP candidate in the race — including the incumbent — with nearly $302,000 raised including a $134,000 self-loan.
“I am proud of our effort to outraise our Republican opponents, especially while running against an incumbent,” Elijah told Sources Say News.
On the Democratic side, former NASA chief of staff Bale Dalton continues to dominate financially. Dalton raised more than $500,000 in the latest quarter on top of the $692,000 already in the bank by the end of Q1.
The primary is set to take place on August 18.
