Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) said he intends to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) regardless of who Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chooses to appoint for the position. President Trump nominated Rubio for secretary of state in his administration and DeSantis must appoint a replacement. The seat will be up for election in 2026. “You can probably guarantee my hat is going to be thrown in the ring for 2026,” Mills said, according to POLITICO. #BREAKING: Congressman Cory Mills (R-FL) announces he's likely to run for U.S. Senate from Florida in 2026 – POLITICO pic.twitter.com/xb7All2diX — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 11, 2025 From POLITICO: Rubio, who was elected to a third term two years ago, is stepping down because President-elect Donald Trump tapped him to become secretary of State. DeSantis will get to name someone to hold the position until 2026 when it will be on the ballot again. The 2026 winner will serve for two years before it goes before voters again. DeSantis said this past week that he has not decided who he will pick for the spot although on Friday he strongly ruled out any consideration of appointing himself to the job. One of the leading contenders for the appointment is Attorney General Ashley Moody, a strong ally of DeSantis. DeSantis said he wants the next senator to support Trump, push for cutting the federal debt and take strong positions on immigration, including revising the H1B visa program. Mills is a U.S. Army veteran who has worked for a defense contractor and also formed his own security consulting firm. He was first elected in 2022 in a crowded and contentious GOP primary for a central Florida seat that was reshaped following the once-a-decade redistricting process. Report: Florida Congressman Cory Mills is planning to run for the Senate in 2026 even if DeSantis doesn't appoint him to replace Rubio@CoryMillsFL said: “You can probably guarantee my hat is going to be thrown in the ring for 2026” pic.twitter.com/l5OqZK3d22 — The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) January 11, 2025 Per Florida Politics: Rubio appears on track for confirmation by the U.S. Senate. DeSantis will appoint a replacement for the next two years of Rubio’s term. However, an election must be held in 2026 to serve out the remainder of the term, which will again appear on the ballot in 2028. DeSantis has publicly offered few signals about who he may choose besides ruling himself out as a candidate. The Governor said he intends to have an appointment ready when Trump’s new term begins on Jan. 20. Mills said he has not spoken to DeSantis about the Senate seat but is interested in the job. “My whole purpose is being (as) effective as possible,” he said. “If you can’t do that in the house, obviously, knowing what the majority looks like, then I think that you have to go somewhere where you can actually deliver on the promises that you made.” It is unlikely DeSantis will choose a Florida member of the U.S. House to fill the seat in this Congress. Republicans retained a House majority, but a slim one, with 219 Republicans currently seated in the House compared to 215. That’s before Republican U.S. Reps. Michael Waltz and Elise Stefanik leave for positions in Trump’s administration.