Republican Ryan Elijah closed out his election night party without knowing whether he’d won.
Elijah was the favorite, but in a night that saw huge losses by the GOP, Elijah, who had a slight lead, had this to say.
“This is a tough night,” Elijah said, addressing the crowd. “There are a lot of emotions. You never know how a race is going to be until you get into it. And I said we're on a path to victory, but you look at it right now, being the only Republican left standing in Seminole County is tough.”
Congressional District 7 is made up of Seminole County and the southern portion of Volusia. Overall results show that Ellijah is winning by .6 percentage points, Ellijah’s 49.8 to Dalton’s 49.2. Florida election laws state that a victory of .5 percentage points or lower would trigger a recount.
According to Ellijah, there were voters still in line in Oviedo precincts as of 9 p.m., causing the delay.
All precincts have reported their results in Seminole County. Dalton had 54% of the vote in Seminole.
"I'm happy because I'm black. He's black. He's the champ," Grant said. "I can't wait to see the first black governor in the state of Florida."
“That's the reality. Obviously they came in with about $2 million in the last week and a half, and so that always makes a difference,” Elijah said.
Central Florida Public Media reached out to the Dalton campaign, but it did not respond for comment.
Dalton’s campaign out-raised the Elijah campaign, receiving $2.3 million, according to FEC reports.
Prior to the party coming to an end, Elijah supporters were abuzz with enthusiasm, including Sanford resident Holly Monahan.
“I've always been a Ryan Elijah supporter,” Monahan said. She’s lived in the same neighborhood as Elijah for seven years, and her daughter even dog-sits for his family, she said.
“They were such a high-caliber family. Their children are lovely, and they're just a lovely couple,” she said. “I think Ryan Elijah is going to do great things for our community, for Seminole County, for Volusia County.”
The strength of Elijah’s character was a recurring theme among his supporters in the Decision Tactical room.
Jessica Boinkley, of Lake Mary, has been an Elijah supporter since he announced his campaign for the Congressional District 7 seat. Boinkley and Elijah’s children attend the same school.
“He's honest, he's genuine, he's a family man,” Boinkley said. “I'm a school principal, so education is very important to me, and I think those are values that Ryan really invests in, and I think he'll work on our behalf in Congress.”
In the Republican Primary Election, Elijah unseated incumbent Rep. Cory Mills. The Florida congressman is mired in political controversies. Mills is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee related to allegations of campaign finance violations and dating violence. Mills was also under investigation by the Department of Justice. Mills denied that any such investigations were ongoing.
After winning the primary, Elijah said the key to winning the General Election would be to appeal to former Mills supporters and non-party-affiliated (NPA) voters, especially in Volusia County, which historically votes red. Volusia elections data shows the county has 175,000 registered Republicans, compared to the 107,000 registered Democrats.
“Seminole carried us through the primary, and I said it's going to be Volusia that carries us through the general, and that's what happened,” he said. “We did great with the supporters of Corey Mills. Volusia County carried us big time tonight. We always said it's going to come down to NPAs, and I think that was the case tonight. That was the case in a lot of races tonight in a year that it's tough to win NPAs.”
Prior to the watch party, Elijah said he and his team spent the day knocking on Volusia County doors, and even held signs on the sides of roads until sunset out of concern the race could be a close one.
“I said, Volusia County is going to be a very different scene than Seminole County was, and it was tonight. It's a case where every vote matters,” he said.
Right now, the race is so close that a recount will likely be triggered.
