FL-07: Cory Mills (R)

REPLACING:

Stephanie Murphy (D)[i]

WORK HISTORY:

PACEM Solutions International LLC (Co-Founder / CEO); PACEM Defense LLC (Co-Founder / CEO); US Department of State (Subcontractor); US Army (Soldier); 82^nd Airborne Division (Soldier); Joint Special Operations Command Combined Joint Task Force 20 (Member)[ii] [iii]

EDUCATION:

N/A

CAMPAIGNED ON:

Limited Government; 2^nd Amendment; Free Enterprise; Individual Liberty; Medical Choice; Law Enforcement; Secure Borders; Quality Education; Anti-Taxation; Strong Military; Veteran Support; Property Rights[iv]

ON THE ISSUES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

Mills said he was “very happy” to see the US Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade and thinks the states should decide whether to criminalize abortion.[v] He has accused Democrats of hypocrisy for being pro-choice on abortion but “anti-choice” when it comes to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.[vi]

ECONOMY, JOBS & TAXES:

Mills blames the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress for inflation and the state of the economy.[vii] He opposed the Inflation Reduction Act and has vowed to defund it, especially the provision that would pay for thousands of new IRS employees – hires Mills has falsely described as “deep-state IRS agents” who will be provided weapons and policing powers.[viii] Mills advocates for bolstering industries for high school students who choose to not go to college, which he says will increase working-class wages and lead to higher levels of “family formation, home ownership, economic stability, and engagements in community organizations that form the backbone of civil society.”[ix] He has been endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Businesses.[x]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

Mills has accused Democrats of wanting to eliminate private health insurance.[xi] He has said he knows the “importance” of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and believes they must be protected.[xii] [xiii] He praised Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ decision to reject federal COVID-19 restrictions and has accused Democrats of falsifying COVID-19 death reports “to fear monger Americans into subservience and enable election and power grab by the left.”[xiv] [xv] Notably, he said he would rather take COVID-19 medical advice from Joe Rogan over NIAID Director Anthony Fauci.[xvi]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

Mills supports building the wall and praised the Trump administration’s immigration policies that he claims prevented “a virtual invasion of migrants.”[xvii] He argues President Biden’s border policies have allowed “illegal alien narco-terrorists to engage in drug-trafficking, human slavery and murder of American citizens by illegal aliens.”[xviii] Mills has called for a temporary moratorium on immigration until the US is able to secure its borders and believes undocumented immigrants who don’t have legitimate asylum claims should be deported.[xix] [xx] [xxi] He also supports defunding “sanctuary cities,” enhancing border security with technology such as cameras and early detection systems, increasing the number of US Customs & Border Patrol agents, reinstating the “Remain in Mexico” agreement, and increasing penalties for businesses that abuse the work visa system.[xxii] [xxiii] [xxiv]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

Mills has opposed efforts to defund the police and believes diverting funds from law enforcement agencies to social services and educational programs to reduce the “root causes” of crime would be a mistake.[xxv] He has suggested that if proponents of defunding the police are successful, affluent individuals and neighborhoods will hire private security firms to “maintain order in their communities” while leaving low-income areas to suffer.[xxvi] He also argues that law enforcement should be controlled by government officials “at the lowest level possible – so that the consequences of choices made by officials are felt most by those officials.”[xxvii] [xxviii] He criticized the Black Lives Matter movement and the “lawless chaos” in “Democrat-led cities” where protesters were “given carte blanche to engage in destructive behavior.”[xxix] Mills’ company, PACEM Solutions, sells tear gas and riot control gear to police.[xxx] According to Politico, the business sold tear gas that was fired at Black Lives Matter protesters and purchased another company that sold rubber bullets used against protesters in Hong Kong.[xxxi] Notably, in 2021, the company was awarded contracts from the Departments of Justice and Interior worth more than $360,000, including for work in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In 2020, the company earned more than $680,000 for work with the same agencies and the Department of Homeland Security.[xxxii]

GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS & ELECTION SECURITY:

Mills does not view Biden as the “legitimate” president because of what he calls a “multitude of fraud that has been found throughout multiple states.[xxxiii] [xxxiv] In the days after the 2020 election, he called on Republicans in Congress to support and fight for President Trump and the “America First agenda” and spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally in Dallas, Texas.[xxxv] [xxxvi] He also believes the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection is biased and politically motivated, arguing it should instead focus on auditing the 2020 election.[xxxvii] He would support election reform focused on requiring government-issues IDs, banning mail-in voting, signature match verification for absentee ballots, updating voting registrations annually, and requiring audits after elections.[xxxviii] Mills would support returning to a system where US senators are chosen by state legislatures.[xxxix]

EDUCATION:

Mills opposes teaching curriculum that includes gender fluidity, sexual orientation, and Critical Race Theory, calling it “left wing political indoctrination” that is “poison in our schools.”[xl] [xli] He opposes student loan forgiveness, calling it a “socialist bailout” that amounts to “tax dollars being weaponized to buy votes.”[xlii] [xliii] He also argues that “hardworking Americans” should not be “liable for Ivy League college graduates student loans.”[xliv]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

Mills argues climate change has “existed with or without Americans” and that the focus should instead be on helping people economically.[xlv] He has accused the Democratic Party of carrying out a “war on reliable energy” and has called for increasing domestic oil production.[xlvi] [xlvii] Mills opposed the August 2022 climate change bill, criticizing provisions that would provide billions of dollars for climate justice, green USPS vehicles, electric garbage trucks, and what he called “green education.”[xlviii] He has labeled the “Green World Order” plan a “disaster.”[xlix]

BIG TECH & DATA PRIVACY:

Mills has alleged that the media is “bought and paid for” by the Big Tech and the Left in order to target conservatives and mislead Americans.[l] He has called Big Tech the “digital arm” of the Democratic Party and believes Democrats won’t “truthfully comment” on China’s “malign actions” because it is supported by and has strong ties to Big Tech and Hollywood. [li] [lii] He supports repealing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, allowing people to sue social media companies if they think they’ve been wrongfully suspended, and utilizing antitrust laws to break up tech conglomerates.[liii] [liv] [lv] Mills has also called for an end to Big Tech’s “interference and the suppression of a political party” in elections.[lvi]

GUN SAFETY:

Mills has called the Second Amendment “one of the most important” in the US Constitution and does not support any gun safety measures.[lvii] [lviii] He does not believe that an AR-15 is a “weapon of war” and opposes banning assault weapons.[lix] He also opposes increasing age restrictions firearm purchases, implementing red flag laws, and requiring background checks on guns and ammunition sales, which he says would allow the ATF to track purchases.[lx] [lxi] [lxii] Mills supports constitutional carry.[lxiii] He has blamed school shootings on Hollywood’s and the US justice system’s efforts to “deteriorate and weaken the nuclear family.”[lxiv] After the Uvalde school shooting in May 2022, he called for some COVID-19 funding meant to help mitigate the spread of the virus in schools to be reallocated to “harden” schools against violent attacks.[lxv] Mills has been endorsed by the NRA, which gave him an “A” rating.[lxvi] [lxvii]

FOREIGN POLICY:

Mills has suggested the conflict in Ukraine is actually an attempt by Russia and China to wage economic warfare on the West.[lxviii] He supported the Trump administration’s decision to provide “lethal aid” to Ukraine to protect its sovereignty and border but has since opposed using taxpayer dollars to provide arms to Ukraine.[lxix] [lxx] He has accused Ukraine of being corrupt and opposes the country becoming a member of NATO.[lxxi] In February 2022, he criticized the Biden administration for allegedly leaving $1.3 trillion in lithium behind as the US evacuated Afghanistan, which he said would benefit China.[lxxii] Mills also advocates for protecting US farmland from foreign interests, especially China, arguing food security is “directly related to our national security.”[lxxiii] Notably, anti-riot bullets sold by what would later become a subsidiary of Mills’ company, PACEM Solutions, were used against protesters by Hong Kong police during demonstrations in 2019 and 2020. Mills claims that PACEM itself has never supplied the Chinese government and the subsidiary has discontinued all sales to Hong Kong since China ended its “one country, two systems” policy.[lxxiv]