Republican Cory Mills faces Democrat Karen Green in Florida's 7th Congressional district election
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The seat is open after Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy didn't seek re-election.
Republican Cory Mills is running against Democrat Karen Green.
The district leans red after redrawn maps.
Republican Cory Mills is vying for an open seat in Florida's redrawn 7th Congressional District against Democrat Karen Green. The seat is open following Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy's decision to not seek re-election after serving three terms.
Florida's 7th Congressional District candidates
Mills is a former defense contractor and Army veteran. He received former President Donald Trump's endorsement and ran on an "America First" platform. He's a favorite on conservative cable news airwaves.
Mills was co-founder of PACEM Solutions, a multi-million dollar company that provided consulting to law enforcement and sold arms and riot-control gear. He sold tear gas that was used against Black Lives Matter demonstrators, according to a Politico report.
Green is a former Florida Democratic Party vice chair who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica during her early 20s.
Voting history for Florida's 7th Congressional District
Florida's 7th Congressional District is in a centrist, suburban district of Orlando, and Murphy had widespread support there by business groups. She announced in December 2021 that she would not seek another term despite her status as a rising star in the Democratic Party.
After reaching her decision, Murphy explained her reasoning to Politico, saying that leadership would "beat moderates into submission" and that the party had abandoned its "big tent" status.
Joe Biden won the district in the 2020 presidential race. But now, the district leans more Republican. This year, the legislature redrew the map in ways that added conservative parts of Volusia County to the district.
The money race
Mills has a massive cash advantage and is self-funding the vast majority of his congressional run, mostly with money he earned from PACEM Solutions.
As of October 19, he raised nearly $2.47 million in comparison to Green's $68,000, according to the nonpartisan money in politics research organization OpenSecrets. Nearly 83% of Mills' total came from his own pocketbook, according to OpenSecrets.
Mills has spent $2.4 million to Green's less-than $33,000, as of October 19.
Although super PACs and other political committees have combined to spend about $2.5 million in this race, most of the money was spent during the eight-candidate Republican primary where Mills emerged victorious with more than 38% of the vote.
What experts say
The race between Mills and Green was rated as a "likely Republican" by Inside Elections and among the "safe Republican flips" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
Read the original article on Business Insider
