ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida Congressman Cory Mills faces dwindling campaign funds and growing opposition from members of his own party, potentially imperiling his reelection bid with less than a week to go before the primary.

But Mills, who is under investigation by a congressional ethics committee and, reportedly, by the U.S. Department of Justice, still has a big feather in his cap: An endorsement from President Donald Trump. And as an incumbent, he has a natural advantage over his Republican and Democratic challengers.

Yet some political scientists and polling suggest Mills, whose district includes all of Seminole County and the southern part of Volusia County, could be in trouble.

Mills’ most imminent threat is from other Republicans, namely former Fox35 anchor Ryan Elijah, who entered the race in May. Elijah out raised Mills threefold in July and has earned the backing of several key Central Florida leaders during recent weeks.

Mills raised less than $16,000 in July and has just $67,644 left in his campaign coffers, according to the most recent reports from the Federal Elections Commission, which include contributions and expenditures through July 29.

Those lackluster figures might portend trouble for Republicans if Mills is his party’s nominee, U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos said this week. The Brevard County Republican recently took the unusual step of endorsing not his fellow Florida GOP representative but Elijah, one of Mills’ Republican opponents. U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from St. Petersburg, did the same.

And part of the reason, Haridopolos said, is that Mills’ fundraising totals are closer to what he would expect in a state House race than a Congressional contest.

“The fact that people are not giving him money says a lot,” said Haridopolos, a former state lawmaker and Florida Senate president.

University of Florida political science professor Sharon Wright Austin agreed that Mills’ fundraising numbers signal a problem.

“You need a lot more to fund a campaign, even if you are an incumbent,” she said, adding she thinks Mills likely will lose the primary.

Elijah, on the other hand, raised $54,293 last month and has $186,154 in his war chest, according to FEC reports.

The Democrats’ top fundraiser, former NASA chief of staff Bale Dalton, has posted even larger numbers. He brought in $176,653 in July and has $475,857 left to spent.

Since he was first elected in 2022, Mills has had a rocky tenure in Congress. In addition to the federal investigations, Mills has been accused of misrepresenting his military record, engaging in unethical business dealings, assaulting a girlfriend and stalking an ex-girlfriend. Colleagues from both sides of the aisle have called on the congressman to resign, though he has denied any wrongdoing.

Mills could not be reached for comment at his Congressional office and a campaign contact did not respond to an email on Tuesday.

In addition to Haridopolos, Seminole Sheriff Dennis Lemma and his Volusia County counterpart, Mike Chitwood, have also thrown their support to Elijah.

“At a time when people disagree on their politics, I’m looking for people I feel can bring people together for a common purpose and common interest and I think Ryan is that guy,” Lemma said Tuesday in an interview.

He said Mills’ troubled track record also is a source of concern.

“I will tell you negative attention and negative controversy is not consistent with the norms, values and customs of our Central Florida community,” Lemma said.

Elijah said last week during a debate hosted by the Volusia GOP in New Smyrna Beach that he thought people had lost trust in Mills.

“We’re all concerned here, but if you look the other way, we’re going to get a huge surprise in November,” he said.

Mills countered during the same debate that voters like that he doesn’t “back down.”

A pair of recent polls show that Elijah still trails Mills, though the incumbent didn’t have as big of an advantage as might be expected. A survey by Victory Insights released last week showed Mills lead the Republican pack with support from 28% of the party’s likely primary voters, Florida Politics reported. Elijah had 22% of the vote. Another poll showed Elijah was further behind. The other two candidates in the GOP primary are Michael Don Johnson and Sarah Ulrich.

Looking ahead to the general election, Haridopolos said he worried about losing the seat to Democrats if Mills prevails in the primary.

“It’s a seat we should win by 10 points, but with some of the challenges that the congressman is facing, it’s going to be difficult for us to hold the seat,” Haridopolos said.

But Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, was more optimistic for Mills, pointing out that incumbents win about 90% of their reelection bids and a nod from the president may help Mills carry the day.

“He’s got the one thing none of his opponents has — he has a Trump endorsement,” Jarvis said.

Primary voters also tend to be more partisan than general election voters and that could boost Mills, he said.

“If he survives the primary, he should be able to get reelected because the 7th is a very Republican district — Trump carried it handily,” Jarvis said, adding that “It doesn’t seem to bother voters to keep voting for people with very questionable backgrounds.”

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