U.S. House, District 7
Represents Florida's 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives; votes on federal laws and spending. Term: 2 years.
Partly verified. Either the November opponent could not be confirmed from available sources, or only a few positions are documented. Confirm the full candidate list on your county sample ballot; unknown positions are shown as such.
How we verified who is on the ballot
AP/NPR/Roll Call (Aug 18, 2026) report Ryan Elijah defeated incumbent Cory Mills in the Republican primary; FOX 35 and a syndicated report state Elijah will face Democrat Bale Dalton in November ; ; . No incumbent is on the November ballot. NPA/write-in candidates not confirmed. Florida's Legislature passed a new congressional map in the April 2026 special session (Senate vote 21-17 on April 29, 2026) and the Florida Supreme Court on June 10, 2026 declined (6-1) to block it, so the new district lines apply to the Nov. 3, 2026 election; litigation on the merits continues. ; ; County list reflects pre-2026 district boundaries unless a 2026 source is cited; boundaries changed under the April 2026 map and the exact new county composition was not confirmed in searches run for this guide.
Candidates
Ryan Elijah
Ryan Elijah, a former television news anchor, won the Aug. 18, 2026 Republican primary in the 7th District, leading incumbent Rep. Cory Mills about 47% to 34% with more than 95% of votes counted, per AP. Mills, who had been endorsed by President Trump, was the subject of an ongoing House Ethics investigation. Elijah i…
Bale Dalton
Bale Dalton is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who served 24 years in the Navy and Navy Reserve, including 13 on active duty, flying medevac missions in Kuwait, delivering relief after Hurricane Katrina and directing combat air support in Afghanistan (campaign site; Florida Politics). He later worked at the State Depart…
Side-by-side on the major issues
Each row is a statement. The chips show how each candidate's stated positions or record relate to that statement. Expand a row to read the evidence and sources. "No public position found" means we could not find a statement or record on the topic, not that the candidate has none.
| Issue | Ryan Elijah Republican | Bale Dalton Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· stated position Says Congress 'must continue driving down costs for American families by keeping taxes low and achieving American energy independence.' | No public position found |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position Supports restricting Wall Street investment in single-family housing to help affordability. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Leans agree· stated position Campaign site says 'America is a nation built by immigrants, however we must enforce the rule of law'; no statement on large-scale deportation was found. | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Opposes Florida's six-week abortion ban and supports writing the protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law (Smarter.Vote summary of his stated positions). |
| GunsGun laws should be stricter (keep the red-flag law and the age-21 purchase rule; expand background checks) rather than looser (permitless or open carry, lower purchase age). | No public position found | Mixed / neutral· stated position Describes the Second Amendment as a fundamental right for law-abiding citizens and identifies as a gun owner, while saying gun owners should be well-trained, violent criminals should not have access to firearms, and police should be adequately funded; no position on specific Florida gun laws was found. |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Told News 6 that Congress 'let the ACA subsidies expire,' leaving 45,000 people in the district uninsured and raising premiums for 150,000 families; supports expanding ACA protections and negotiating prescription prices, and lists reversing premium hikes as a first priority. |
| Social Security & MedicareSocial Security and Medicare benefits must be protected from any cuts, even if that requires more revenue. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position Lists 'protecting Social Security and Medicare' among his positions; no statement on revenue was found. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | No public position found | No public position found |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Elections & votingVoting should be made easier (mail voting, drop boxes, restoring voting rights) rather than adding new restrictions. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Leans agree· stated position Describes himself as 'a strong defender of law enforcement'; endorsed by the Volusia, Seminole and Highlands county sheriffs. | No public position found |
| Gender identity lawsFlorida's laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors and classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity should remain in place. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Energy & utilitiesGovernment should promote renewable energy and tighten oversight of utility rate increases, even at the expense of fossil-fuel production. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Tariffs & tradeTariffs on imported goods are good for the American economy. | Leans disagree· stated position Told News 6 that tariffs do not help affordability and that as 'a free-business person' he has 'never been a fan' of them, while noting possible benefits from manufacturing returning to Florida. | Strongly disagrees· stated position His priorities page calls for reversing 'illegal, unpredictable tariffs' as part of making Florida affordable. Sources: Bale Dalton campaign: Priorities |
| UkraineThe U.S. should continue military aid to Ukraine. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Trump administrationI approve of the direction of the Trump administration. | No public position found | Leans disagree· stated position Criticizes administration tariffs as 'illegal' and says Washington politicians have pursued 'policies that have made a mess of our economy.' |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | No public position found | No public position found |
Where they sit on the map
Each candidate is placed by the average of their documented stances. It is a summary of the table above, not an extra judgment.
Ryan ElijahHow the axes are computed
Each axis is the average of a candidate's coded stances (+2 to −2) on a fixed set of statements, so it comes straight from the documented positions and nothing else. A candidate needs at least three documented statements on an axis to be placed.
Economic issues (toward "Smaller government (lower taxes, less spending)"): Taxes & spending (agree), Property taxes (agree), Health care (disagree), Housing affordability (disagree), Property insurance (disagree), Energy & utilities (disagree), Social Security & Medicare (disagree).
Social & legal issues (toward "Conservative side of the statements"): Immigration (agree), Abortion (disagree), Guns (disagree), Education & school choice (agree), Elections & voting (disagree), Crime & policing (agree), Gender identity laws (agree), Marijuana (disagree), Environment & water (disagree), Trump administration (agree).
| Candidate | Economic issues | Social & legal issues |
|---|---|---|
| Ryan Elijah | not enough data | not enough data |
| Bale Dalton | -1.33 (3 statements) | -1.00 (3 statements) |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Ryan Elijah
- Affordability first — Says affordability is the first issue he would tackle in Congress.
- Congressional stock trading — Says no member of Congress should be able to sit on a committee and trade stocks.
- Health-care costs and innovation — Says the federal government 'can do more to lower healthcare costs' and that the U.S. must lead in medical innovation; FOX 35 reports he favors expanding tax benefits for health care.
- Energy independence — Lists American energy independence as a way to lower costs.
- Family values and faith — Campaign site says he is active in his church and believes in protecting family values.
Bale Dalton
- Wall Street ownership of single-family homes — Would restrict institutional investment in single-family housing.
- Prescription drug price negotiation — Supports negotiating prescription drug prices.
- National and border security; overseas conflicts — Says he supports strong national and border security and opposes prolonged U.S. involvement in overseas conflicts without clear strategic goals.
- Veterans' benefits — Cites his work in Sen. Bill Nelson's office helping Florida veterans access earned care and benefits.
- Congressional self-enrichment — Campaign message criticizes politicians 'enriching themselves while our families foot the bill.'