DAYTONA BEACH— Voters decided Tuesday to send U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz back to Washington, D.C., for a third two-year term, and fellow Republican Cory Mills will be joining him in the nation's capital.
Waltz captured a dominant 75% of the vote in the Florida 6th Congressional District race, trouncing Libertarian challengerJoe Hannoush, unofficial vote totals showed Tuesday night.
In the Florida 7th Congressional District contest, political newcomer Mills collected nearly 59% of the vote for that post, enough to get pastDemocrat Karen Green, unofficial results show.
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Waltz, a former member of the U.S. Army'sGreen Berets,has represented Volusia and Flagler counties in Florida's 6th Congressional District for the past four years.
While Waltz was excited Tuesday night with Republicans' strong showing and his own decisive victory, he said now it's time for Congress to deliver. He hopes to see action and accountability on everything fromthe U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan last year to the origins of COVID to the way some parents were treated like "domestic terrorists for caring about their kids."
Waltz has been a ranking member on the Subcommittee on Readiness on the House Armed Services Committee, and the House Subcommittee on Research and Technology that'swithin the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
Waltz remains a captain in the Army National Guard following his service in the Green Berets, which brought him into combat zones multiple times in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa. He rose to prominence following his active duty Army service by servingas a defense policy director in the Pentagon before then-Vice President Dick Cheney tapped him to work as a counterterrorism adviser.
First came the primary election:Congressman Michael Waltz faces challenger Charles Davis in Republican primary election
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All about Cory Mills and Karen Green:Election 2022: Volusia-Seminole 7th District Congress candidates offer vast differences
Waltz, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, was heavily favored to win another term representing the 6th District. In addition to the advantages of incumbency and being in a district that favors his political party, Waltz has raised more than $2.5 million.Hannoush didn't collect any campaign contributions.
The website FiveThirtyEight.com gaveHannoush a less than 1% chance of winning, and the Cook Political Report consideredthe Florida 6th a non-competitive race.
Hannoush, a delivery driver who's run unsuccessfully for two Florida Legislature seats, hadn't expected to win. He hoped to use his candidacy to get voters thinking and talking about issues from his point of view.
"I've been both a Democrat and a Republican before, and I've left both parties," Hannoush said a few months ago. "Iwanted to be the change Iwish tosee."
The 6th District includes the northern half of Volusia County,all of Flagler County, southernSt. Johns County, parts of Putnam County, east Marion County and northwest Lake County.
Mills got big endorsem*nts ahead of Election Day
In the Florida 7thCongressional District,comprised of Seminole County and the southern half of Volusia County, Mills was alsoendorsed by Trump.
On Monday afternoon,Mills hosted a pre-election rally in New Smyrna Beach that includedFirst Lady of FloridaCasey DeSantis andFlorida Attorney GeneralAshley Moody. On Tuesday morning, Mills cast his ballot and voted for himself at theCoronado Civic Center onFlagler Avenue in NewSmyrnaBeach.
Mills is a 42-year-old, twice-wounded combat veteran and defense and security contractor who was born in Winter Haven and recently relocated from Virginia to New Smyrna Beach to run in the 7th District.
Although Mills is new to national politics, he did very well with fundraising.Through Sept. 30, he had raised $2.4 million,nearly 100 times more than his opponent.
After locking in his win Tuesday night, Mills likened his upcoming term in Washington, D.C., to his service in the U.S. Army.
"I’m honored that the people of District 7 have put their trust in me to represent them in the U.S. House,"Mills said. "This is just a new battlefield and a new fight."
He said the fight will be to preserve "our freedoms, our liberty, and the U.S. Constitution."
"We need to start delivering for the American people,"Mills said. "We cannot have a 2010, when we won a tremendous amount of seats and then didnothing with it."
The 57-year-old Green was also making her first run for office. She isa vice chair of the Florida Democratic Party and she lives in Apopka.
She had hoped to become the first Jamaica-born member of Congress. She moved to the United States in 1990 and has owned her own political consulting business until announcing her run for Congress last spring.
Mills and Green have distinctly different views on several issues.Mills supports the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to determine the legality of abortion. Green has said Congress needs to codify federal protections for women so they can make their own health and reproductive choices.
As to the estimated 11 million immigrants who are in the United States without proper documentation, Green favors a process for undocumented immigrants to become citizens. Mills,whose wife Rana is an immigrant from Iraq,said those who don't have legitimate asylum claims should be deported.
And the two have vastly divergent views on the 2020 election, how elections should be run and the future of democracy.
Both Waltz and Mills celebrated their victories Tuesday night at a Volusia County Republican Party election night gala atRock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery in Daytona Beach.
Staff writer Mark Harper contributed to this report. You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com
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