ORLANDO, Fla. — A former TV journalist and ex-NASA chief of staff will face off in one of the most hotly contested and closely watched Congressional races in Florida.

Ryan Elijah, an anchor for Fox 35 in Orlando until earlier this year, easily defeated embattled Congressman Cory Mills in the August Republican primary. That was a reversal of fortune for Mills, a two-term lawmaker who had secured President Donald Trump’s endorsement despite facing allegations of sexual assault and shady business dealings.

Now Elijah will take on Democrat Bale Dalton, whose resume includes bona fides that could make him an appealing candidate to swing voters.

Both have won endorsements from high-profile elected officials and political veterans, some crossing party lines.

They’ll vie to represent Congressional District 7, a GOP-favoring district that takes in all of Seminole County and the southern half of Volusia County.

Unlike much of the rest of Central Florida, Congressional District 7 was unaffected by Florida Republicans’ redistricting initiative earlier this year that was designed to give the GOP an advantage in most of the state. District 7 remains red-leaning, with registered Republicans accounting for 39% of the electorate. Democrats make up about 29%, with voters registered with third parties and without party affiliation accounting for the rest.

A Libertarian, Christopher Dennison, has also filed to run.

Pollsters predict the race will be close. Silver Bulletin, a political analysis site run by statistician Nate Silver, characterized the contest as a “toss-up” and one of this year’s most competitive House races.

Though registration statistics favor Elijah, Dalton has another important number working on his side: A fundraising total of more than $2.1 million, compared with Elijah’s $703,149.

The candidates

Both Dalton and Elijah have some political experience, though not in elected office. In addition to serving in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve, Dalton was a staffer for former Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, and Elijah ran for Congress in 2010 in Indiana, though he was eliminated in the Republican caucus.

More recently, Dalton was the chief of staff for NASA while Nelson served as the agency’s administrator. Elijah anchored the morning newscast on the local Fox station.

Dalton’s campaign materials highlight his military service, with the top of his website describing him as a “veteran for Florida.” Elijah describes himself as a long-time Central Florida resident and his website says he is active in his church and other community organizations.

Both tout endorsements from high-profile members of their own parties. Dalton has the backing of Nelson, former U.S. Representative Stephanie Murphy and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, while Gov. Ron DeSantis, U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos and several local leaders in Volusia and Seminole counties have thrown their support to Elijah.

But both have at least one champion from the opposite side of the aisle: Former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, a Republican, has endorsed Dalton, and Orange County Sheriff John Mina, a Democrat, has sided with Elijah.

Dalton has more money to spend heading into the general election, with $443,507 left in the bank at the end of September compared with Elijah’s $223,094.

ActBlue, a major political action committee for Democrats, has given generously to Dalton, steering more than $300,000 to his war chest. He was tapped for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” initiative, which directs resources to Democrats running in districts currently represented by Republicans and the organization’s Chairwoman, Rep. Suzan DelBene, recently was in Central Florida campaigning for Dalton and a few other candidates from her party.

Elijah pointed out during a recent interview that he won his primary without the support of his party’s most high-profile member, Trump, though president did throw his support to Elijah after he had won the GOP nomination.

“There’s no doubt that there’s going to be times I disagree with the president,” he said.

As the general election draws closer, both Dalton and Elijah have released attack ads against each other. Dalton’s “millionaire” ad paints Elijah as out-of-touch with the economic stresses, including high gas prices, faced by Americans.

“Ryan Elijah won’t change Washington,” the ad concludes.

A few days ago, Elijah unveiled an ad linking his opponent to “communist China,” apparently referencing Dalton’s investments in the state-owned Bank of China and a Chinese pharmaceutical enterprise as part of his retirement portfolio. These investments were listed on Daltons’ personal financial disclosure, required for candidates running for federal offices.

“Dalton’s a bad bet for Florida,” the ad’s narrator says.

The issues

Both candidates say cost-of-living issues, like the price of groceries and gas, are the biggest challenges for voters right now, but they differ on how they think Congress should tackle those problems.

The end of the Affordable Care Act subsidies that reduced the cost of health insurance for millions of Americans is “a crisis of Congress’s own making” and expected to leave 45,000 people in District 7 without coverage, Dalton said.

“As I talk to thousands and thousands of people across Seminole and Volusia County, the overwhelming feeling is that people have lost confidence that tomorrow’s going to be better than yesterday,” Dalton said during an interview.

Elijah said tax cuts over the past couple of years had been a good thing for Americans, but said Congress could “do better.” He acknowledged that high fuel prices, largely driven by the war in Iran, are still an issue. He said he doesn’t think voters want the conflict in Iran to go on indefinitely and that the U.S. needs to “draw down” the war, though it first needs to determine the Middle Eastern nation isn’t a nuclear threat.

“I’m not backing away from the pricing pressure right now that’s coming from what’s happening in the Middle East,” Elijah said. “Energy policies matter, it affects how businesses spend, it affects the cost of everything from transportation to groceries. And I think energy policies make a big difference.”

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