Florida’s District 7 seat became open after Rep. Cory Mills lost his primary, and neither Elijah, a former television anchor, nor Dalton, a retired Navy captain and former NASA chief of staff, has held elected office before.
Here’s where they stand, in their own words. Interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Affordability
For families across Seminole and Volusia counties, the cost of living has become the defining issue of the race. Both candidates were asked the same thing: what is the first thing you would do to bring costs down?
Ryan Elijah put energy at the top of his list.
“Tax cuts are a big thing, and I think we’ve done a lot of that. But I’m a big (believer in) energy independence, if not energy dominance,” Elijah said. “Even with what we’ve seen in Iran, it is a lesser impact now because of our energy position. We had record crude. We had record LNG exporting last year. If you can get that long term, that’s a generational change.”
Beyond energy, he pointed to “rolling back some of these taxes — the no tax on tips, the child credit, some of those health care (costs) — you can do that with transparency, with less regulation.”
Pressed on whether it’s difficult to campaign on affordability while the president pushes tariffs that raise prices, Elijah acknowledged the tension but defended the broader approach. “It doesn’t help affordability,” he said of the tariffs. “As a free-business person, I’ve never been a fan (of them). But he’s also the business president. I can also argue points where manufacturing’s come back to Florida … when jobs are coming back to Florida from Mexico as a result of tariffs. There’s more to look at than just (the price of goods).”
Bale Dalton pointed first to health care, tying rising costs directly to Congress.
“This Congress has let the ACA subsidies expire, which has left 45,000 people in this district alone without health care at all,” Dalton said. “And over 150,000 families have seen their health insurance premiums go up between two and four times.”
He called it “a crisis of Congress’s own making. That can be turned around tomorrow, if we had the right folks in Congress.” Dalton also pointed to small businesses, which he said are “getting squeezed on both ends by these illegal tariff taxes.”
Data centers
More than 100 data centers already operate in Florida, straining the power grid and water supply and dividing communities over who should decide where they go. Both candidates were asked whether they support new construction here.
Elijah rejected an outright ban and pointed to state law.
“The popular answer is just abolish them — that’s what some voters want to hear, but I don’t think it’s practical,” he said. “I’m a big fan of states’ rights and the free state of Florida. What they did with Senate Bill 484 is the best plan. Local governments get to decide. Local residents get to decide. They can decide if it’s going to get a green light in their community or not.”
Asked directly whether he would support a federal push to control where data centers are built, Elijah was brief: “I would rather see it dealt with at the state level.”
Dalton also emphasized local control, while stressing the need to stay competitive on technology.
“Any community or neighborhood needs to have the veto power to keep these things out if they’re not a right fit for that community,” he said. “There are too many questions right now that are not answered … folks need to have their concerns heard, and we need to take care of those concerns in law. But we also need to stay ahead on the cutting edge of research and development and technology, especially with other countries in this world sometimes surpassing us.”
Asked whether tech-industry PAC donations from Silicon Valley might cloud his judgment as data centers move into Florida, Dalton said no. “I can say unequivocally no,” he said. “The reason I’m running for Congress is because I don’t think the folks in Seminole and Volusia County have been responsibly represented to this point … the only pledge I’m interested in taking is to make sure the struggles we’re facing in Central Florida are attacked with real solutions.”
Iran
With U.S. casualties, a broken ceasefire, and continued tension in the Strait of Hormuz, both candidates were asked how the conflict with Iran has been handled.
Elijah framed it as the culmination of a long-running conflict, while voicing frustration over the timeline.
“You have to tell the Americans why you got in. This has been a multi-decade issue with Iran, where Americans have been killed. We’ve had recent attacks, cyberattacks,” he said. “Obviously they came out and said four to six weeks. That’s been frustrating for me, and I think for a lot of Americans, because it set that table … We all know this is something we need to wrap up and finish with the conclusion we want. Wars are tricky, and they’re never as quick as (leaders) want.”
Dalton was sharply critical, calling it a war of choice and questioning what the public has been told.
“This is a war of choice that our political leadership has gone into with no clear strategy and no defined end state,” he said. “It hasn’t been briefed to our representatives in Congress in some cases, and it certainly hasn’t been explained to the people. I’m especially concerned that we seem to have been lied to by the political leadership about casualty rates — where people are dying and how they are dying, how many people have been injured.”
Israel and campaign Money
With pro-Israel groups among the biggest outside spenders of the cycle, both candidates were asked whether they’ve taken money tied to AIPAC.
Both said no. Elijah: “I’m not taking money from AIPAC.” He described Israel as “a key ally” and a central part of Middle East stability, adding: “America First means you can support Israel, because it supports American interests.” Asked whether that support should be unconditional, Elijah was emphatic: “No, of course not. Absolutely not. And that’s why I say America First — as long as it is in America’s best interest.”
Dalton said his campaign had taken no AIPAC money and none had been offered, adding that he’d talk with “anybody that supports what we are trying to do for Central Floridians” as long as “our values are aligned.” Asked whether he’d join the more than 100 House Democrats who’ve voted to condition or cut arms to Israel, he was cautious: “My concern is that what has been offered previously also cuts defensive measures like the Iron Dome. Everybody deserves … self-defense against terrorist activity … So at a minimum, we need to look more at what needs to happen specifically, rather than any sort of blanket restrictions.”
Trading stocks
Both candidates were asked how they’d handle their personal finances in office, amid public anger over lawmakers profiting from their positions.
Dalton said he’d already made his commitment official. “On the ballot qualification paperwork, I checked the box that I do not intend to trade individual stocks,” he said, citing “the abject failure of Congresspeople to police themselves.” He drew a contrast with his opponent, claiming, “My opponent checked the other box — that he does intend to trade individual stocks if elected.”
Elijah said members of Congress should not be trading impacted by committees they sit on. “There is no way a member of Congress should be able to sit on a committee and trade stocks,” he said. “This may be a 90-10 issue … they shouldn’t be allowed to do it.” He said he’d support a full ban, with a caveat: “The devil’s always in the details. A bill might be good, but there’s a little part inserted at the last second that changes things. It’s got to also protect the people that are government workers, that they’re not left out of the system — but they also don’t have an unfair advantage.”
Matt Austin also pressed the candidates on topics related to their respective political parties. Ryan Elijah participated in a debate before the primary election in which he claimed he did not believe Joe Biden received as many votes as he was credited with. Matt also pressed Bale Dalton about transgender issues, which some experts claim played a major role in the 2024 election.
The 2020 election
Asked whether the 2020 presidential election was stolen — a claim the president continues to raise — Elijah said plainly that it was not.
“No,” he said. “Joe Biden was elected president, and nobody’s disputing that. I’m not disputing (it).” He noted the question comes up often but is now “six or seven years ago,” and pointed out that he did not have the president’s endorsement before the primary.
“Every election, one vote that’s fraud is too much,” he added, but said most Americans “want to move forward.”
Transgender issues
Following the Supreme Court’s decision upholding state bans on transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports, Dalton was asked directly whether transgender girls should be allowed to play in girls’ sports.
“I do not think that boys should be playing in girls’ sports, and I don’t think boys have any business being in girls’ locker rooms,” he said. “The human condition is different for different folks, and we need to provide folks with the same opportunities — but we also have to acknowledge protecting our young people as they mature and grow.”
Asked whether he would support gender-affirming medical care for minors, Dalton said it should be left to families. “This is always going to be a discussion that families should have — parents with their children and with their doctors,” he said. “I’ll leave it at that, because I don’t think the federal government has any business talking about the medical care that families determine they need for themselves or their kids.”
The general election for Florida’s 7th Congressional District is Nov. 3.