GOP candidate Cory Mills, vying for open Florida House seat, says his community hurting due to inflation

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Congressional candidate Cory Mills, R-Fla., torched the Biden admin for supporting cutting Army pay from unvaccinated troops and inflation continuing to rise

Republican congressional candidate Cory Mills spent a decade overseas in both military and diplomatic capacities, but told Fox News Digital in a recent interview he is running for office because he believes his community in Central Florida needs someone on the local level to push back against government overreach and inflationary economics.

Mills, who won the Republican nomination Tuesday for the Sanford-area seat of retiring House Jan. 6 Select Committee member Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., explained how through an estimated 100,000 door-knocks he has heard many stories of struggle.

"We listened to the people and their concerns, and the things that impact them," Mills told Fox News Digital of the district the Cook Political Report rates as "Even," or swing. 

"And, you know, while a lot of the national issues really impact everyone here at home, I think this kind of personalizes it."

Mills told of a resident named Don who recounted his family's financial pinch amid record inflation, describing a recent tough decision he had to make.

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Florida Republican congressional candidate Cory Mills. (Mills for Congress)

"He had brought up he has two kids, and the other day one of his children got hurt while on the playground; injured his leg," Mills recalled, adding Don took the child to the local clinic – but did not  have enough resources in his family budget for emergency medical care – leaving him with a choice.

"Do I now not completely fill up my tank or do I try to stretch the money for our food a little bit longer?" Mills recalled. "These are real issues that every single American is facing, specifically here in our district."

Mills said affordability in many aspects of life has become a challenge for his area – which lies just outside the burgeoning Orlando metro.

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Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

While he is happy to see Florida transplants shunning the liberal politics of the Northeast, Mills said the influx is straining local resources and increasing real estate prices.

"A lot of the national issues have just been streamed down into the communities, and that's really impacting every single one of us here in District 7," he added.

Mills said he is prepared to work with a divided legislature, in the case the House flips to GOP hands, but the Senate remains Democratic.

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"As a business owner, one of the things that I've had a tremendous amount of experience in is working with others -- being able to negotiate in terms that don't compromise our values, our principles and the things that we stand for," he said.

"For those on the left who are actually not trying to undermine our Constitution, for those on the left who are actually not [forwarding] an America Last agenda, I don't think that's going to be a difficulty."

However, he said he draws the line at Democrats he says are putting forth a "socialist-Marxist agenda" – calling himself a "10th Amendment guy."

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The amendment reserves to the states those rights not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution. In that regard, Mills praised Florida's state leadership, calling Gov. Ron DeSantis "not just Florida's governor, but America's governor" – and said he firmly believes Tallahassee took the correct tact when it shunned federal coronavirus restrictions; opting for state-level regulation.

While Democratic political strategist Karen Green won that party's nomination amid Murphy's retirement, Mills said the outgoing lawmaker's January 6th committeeship is still notable.

"I think [the panel] definitely plays into the district – and all of America. We've seen political persecution: We've seen a continuation of that ‘J-6’ Unselect Committee ethos transfer over when you look at the Fourth Amendment violation for President Donald Trump with the Mar-a-Lago raid – where it was really an unlawful, illegal search and seizure," Mills commented.