Politics

After three days of counting, Ryan Elijah claims victory in Florida's tight 7th District race

Florida • November 7, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

Ryan Elijah speaks at a podium at a campaign event in Central Florida

Photo: News Collaborative of Central Florida

It took three and a half extra days, but Republican Ryan Elijah claimed a congressional victory on Saturday, after Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd determined there will be no recount in his race against Democrat Bale Dalton.

Elijah leads Dalton by 1,631 votes after both Volusia and Seminole counties submitted their first unofficial results on Friday. The tally stood at 49.843% for Elijah to 49.338% for Dalton, with Libertarian Christopher Dennison pulling just over 1% of the vote.

The margin — 0.503% — sits just outside the 0.5% threshold that triggers an automatic machine recount under Florida law. Elijah's race was a mere nine votes away from triggering one.

"I am honored by the faith the people of Central Florida have placed in me and will work to maintain their trust each and every day," Elijah said in a statement to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Dalton, who has yet to concede, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. His campaign had raised $2.3 million — triple what Elijah brought in — and outside spending favored Dalton by two to one. Dalton, a combat veteran in the Navy and a former NASA chief of staff, won Seminole County by a 54-45 margin, while Elijah took Volusia County by 57-42.

The results are not final until the state Elections Canvassing Commission certifies them on November 17. Both counties expect to keep receiving overseas ballots from U.S. service members and citizens abroad, which must arrive by November 13 to be counted — but there appear to be too few left to erase a lead of more than 1,600 votes.

"The remaining overseas ballots that come in will not mathematically change the outcome and will be added to the final tally," Elijah said.

The Associated Press has yet to call the race.

Elijah, a former Orlando television news anchor, resigned from a lucrative job to run for the seat, knocking off embattled incumbent U.S. Rep. Cory Mills in the Republican primary. Mills had been under a congressional investigation over allegations that he violated campaign finance laws. Elijah earned President Donald Trump's endorsement after defeating Mills in the primary.

The 7th District covers all of Seminole County and part of Volusia County in Central Florida. Mills won the seat by 13.1 percentage points in 2024, and voters there backed Trump by 12.5 points in the same election. This time, Elijah won by only about half a percentage point — a sign of how competitive the district became in a midterm cycle that punished Republicans across much of the country.

With Mills leaving Congress under a cloud of scandal and investigation, Elijah said the message that resonated most with voters was regaining trust. "People want to make sure that you're committed to this district," he said on Election Day, "and I think that they've been encouraged that while I'm still running a campaign, I'm still visiting businesses, I'm visiting school districts."

Florida was the exception to this year's substantial Republican losses around the country. In the neighboring 9th District, Democratic Rep. Darren Soto also claimed victory on Saturday, leading Republican Dan Green by 0.53%, a margin of 1,506 votes — also just outside the recount threshold.

Sources: The Daytona Beach News-Journal, "After 3 days, Ryan Elijah claims win in tight Congress election" (Nov. 7, 2026, full text verified); Central Florida Public Media, "Rep. Soto, Elijah all but guaranteed as winners with final ballots tallied" (Nov. 7, 2026, full text verified). Event date verified: Elijah claimed victory Saturday, November 7, 2026, after the Florida secretary of state determined there will be no recount.