A Democratic super PAC tied to House leadership has stopped spending on TV ads in Florida's 7th Congressional District, the open seat that covers Seminole County and southern Volusia County, with a week to go before the Nov. 3 election.
House Majority PAC, which is aligned with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, canceled $1.95 million in ad reservations for the district, Florida Politics reported Tuesday, citing the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. The group had first planned to spend nearly $4 million to help Democrat Bale Dalton of Sanford and cut that in half last week. Monday's cancellation takes it out of the race entirely.
Republican Ryan Elijah, a former TV news anchor who beat U.S. Rep. Cory Mills in the August primary, had already pointed to the first cut. "They pulled national money out. That was our goal all the time," he said in a Newsmax interview last week. Elijah said affordability is voters' top concern and that he has led in internal polls his campaign has not released.
Democrats say the race is still in play
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee told Florida Politics its commitment has not changed, noting it put Dalton in its Red to Blue program ahead of any other Florida candidate. The committee released a poll of 414 likely voters, taken Oct. 17-19, that showed the two candidates at 45% each with 10% undecided and a margin of error of 4.8 points.
Dalton's campaign manager, MG Darmody, cited his fundraising lead and an endorsement from Mel Martinez, a former Republican National Committee chair. "This is winnable territory for Democrats regardless of who the Republicans prop up for this seat," Darmody said.
Other outside groups are still involved. A group connected to American Bridge, Project 218, has put almost $354,000 into helping Dalton, according to Florida Politics. Blue Dog Action, which spent $700,000 to help him win the Democratic nomination, argued the seat is more competitive than Washington believes.
Independent forecasters lean the other way. Decision Desk HQ gave Elijah a 74% chance of winning as of last week, and the Cook Political Report rates the seat as likely Republican. Trump carried the district by 12 points in 2024.
