Bale Dalton says Florida needs to ‘send its best’ to Congress and dump Cory Mills

A former NASA Chief of Staff just blasted into the race to oust U.S. Cory Mills.

Bale Dalton, head of Space Growth at Vannevar Labs, launched his campaign for Congress with a nearly two-minute YouTube video. The Democrat is stressing his military background and connections to America’s space agency as he runs in Florida’s 7th Congressional District.

“I’ve served 23 years in the United States Navy. In Iraq, I flew special operations missions to capture terrorists,” Dalton says in the ad.

“In Afghanistan, I controlled close air support to bring the fight to the Taliban. And I led a squadron of 400 patriots in the fight against al-Qaida and ISIS throughout the world. And then I helped lead NASA, serving with tens of thousands of people who showed the world every day what Americans can accomplish when we work together.”

He promotes a largely nonpartisan message throughout the video, never bringing up his own party affiliation or his connections to former NASA Administrator and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

When Nelson started at NASA, Dalton came on as Deputy Chief of Staff in January 2021. Dalton was promoted to Chief of Staff in January 2024, staying on until the end of former President Joe Biden’s first term.

Before that, he served as Nelson’s Military Legislative Assistant from March 2016 to January 2019, and also served for almost a year as Nelson’s Special Assistant from June 2014 to March 2015. Dalton also worked at the State Department’s Global Partnership Initiative during former President Barack Obama’s term, and interned at the Cape York Institute for Police and Leadership.

Dalton’s ad levels critiques at Mills, the two-term incumbent currently being targeted as vulnerable by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Dalton particularly focuses on an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation into whether Mills, a former defense contractor, continued to profit from work after his election to Congress. Three businesses once owned by Mills are now run by his wife, Rana Al Saadi, whom Mills said he has been separated from for more than two years.

The ad questions whether Mills cares more about profiting from those businesses than serving the public.

“Instead of lowering costs for us at home, he’s sold weapons to foreign countries who may mean us harm,” Dalton says in the ad. “Instead of tackling the deficit, he’s making money off government contracts while a sitting member of Congress. With Congressman Mills, we’re not sending our best to represent us.”

Mills has said he is “committed to complying with all laws and ethics rules.”

The ad also plays a series of news broadcasts about personal scandals, including allegations he assaulted Washington girlfriend Sarah Raviani, which she initially reported to police but later recanted. The ad also references reports that Mills threatened to release intimate images of Florida ex-girlfriend Lindsey Langston, which prompted a Judge last month to issue a restraining order forbidding the Congressman from contact with the Columbia County woman.

Dalton enters an already crowded Democratic field, which includes Jennifer Adams, Marialana Kinter and Noah Widmann. For the last two quarters, Widmann outraised Mills.