Ryan Elijah on closing out his Congressional campaign

We are two weeks away exactly from Election Day, early voting underway in a number of counties already. That'll be statewide here in just a couple of days. So a lot of folks already beginning to cast their ballots and more attention as well, focusing to some of these big races that we are watching, including one of those races right here in Central Florida, the 7th Congressional District between Democrat Bill Dalton, Republican Ryan Elijah. If you were with us on Friday, we spoke with Bill Dalton during our two o'clock hour. And today I'm very pleased to be joined by the Republican candidate in this race. That is Ryan Elijah, a former employee here as well in full disclosure. Ryan, we appreciate you joining us here on Fox Orlando Live today. Garrett, great to be with you. And thanks to Fox for shining light on this race. It's important. It is a race that's getting a lot of attention, not just here in Florida, but across the country. There are some analysts who have called it even a toss up. Why do you think this is such a competitive race? Well, first of all, let me check that. Cook Political has not raised it. They have left it where it is the entire election. The Democrats just pulled $500,000 out this week. So I believe that we still have a very good edge here. But I think that sometimes people want perception, but it's also a situation where it's the midterms and everybody's focused on these competitive races. So we feel good where we're at, but it's a balance of power in Washington. And this is a district, obviously they targeted this well before I got in the race with Corey Mills and they've moved it back a couple spots now since we were able to win the primary and the voters made that choice to switch candidates. I think we're in a stronger position, but it doesn't mean across the country. It is so competitive. I've been in D.C., I've spoken to leaders and you know what's at stake. I mean, it is the agenda for the U.S. Congress and there's a lot of money around the country and it's fiercely competitive. I want to talk some policy things, but before we do, just how are you kind of spending your time right now at this point in the campaign? I mean, I imagine this is kind of crunch time at this point, two weeks out. It's a great point. I think with two weeks out, you really have to focus what helps us with voters and what helps us get across the finish line. So we get a lot of requests from groups and I love doing that, but now we have to really focus on what's the best use of our time. So you try to meet as many voters as you can. You try to hold as many events as you can and make sure your message gets out. Yes, you can do ads. Yes, you can do different things on radio and TV and social media, but nothing beats sitting there at someone's door and talking about issues directly with them. Why no debate, Ryan? So I love debating. We did two of those in the primary. We did multiple events. We've I've done 30 events where we did all the questions and I fully expected to do one in this event. First, it started with we had a conflict. We had an issue with the governor. We had an event with the governor on the same day. So we're trying to iron that out. Then it became the other side ran to the media and said he doesn't want to debate. Once we saw what they were doing, it was essentially distorting what we do. We had to assess and we decided in our situation with me being known in this community, we wanted to take our message directly to the voters. It's unfiltered. We've seen a lot of people not do debates in this cycle. I like debates in this situation. It just didn't feel like it was the right decision for us. When we can go to our own event, it's not our job to give our opponent a stage. And that's really what it came down to for us. But do you think it's unfair to the voters at all for them not to see the two of you on a stage together, unscripted setting, under pressure and that kind of thing? No, because first of all, we've done so many of those anyway. But beyond that, you're talking them directly. We've done probably 15 to 20 interviews, maybe 50 interviews that are all out there. Every question, every event I've had, there's questions asked that are unfiltered like this. I don't know what you're going to ask. Every media event I go on, there's no question that has been given to me. So any question can be asked. Is it unfair that you have to have the governor's race? They have not done this. We've seen this cycle. And I think the reason some candidates have moved away is that got you moment. Look, I think in my feet, I've done a lot of media interviews. That doesn't concern me. But you have to decide, is it in your best interest to win the election? If you're more known than you're a candidate, do you want to give him that stage? And I think that's what it comes down to. Big focus, affordability. I know that's I know I'm sure that's something you're hearing as you go door to door and talk to folks. Can you just kind of talk us through what you would do as a member of Congress? What are some of those kind of initial levers you could pull or would want to see, you know, kind of done to to help lower costs for central Floridians and to help lower them quickly? I use a story in Winter Springs. I met a group of teachers, a husband, wife, and they said we really support you, but you've got to fight for us because we're struggling to get by. We put affordability number one on our list back in April. And there's a lot of things, and I'll say this, Garrett, we go back to COVID, both parties are responsible for this inflation cycle that we're in. We spent crazy at the government level, which led to this inflation, and it's led to higher interest rates. There's things we can do. Energy policies is one of the biggest things right off the bat, because it's a long-term fix. If we become not only energy independent, but energy dominant, for generations to come, it helps national security. It drives the cost of doing business down, drives the cost for consumers down. That's the number one thing. Some of the tax cuts have been put in place, and they kind of get lost in some of this inflation, but that make 2017 tax cuts permanent. Lowering taxes and the threshold on businesses with regulation, that all makes a difference. Some of those tax cuts, we return more money. Those things matter, and I think energy policy is number one, but there's so much more we can do. And then encourage job growth, which is going to lift wages, and that's going to help also. At the end of the day, we've got to get inflation down. That's going to get interest rates down, And part of that starts with government not spending so much and not driving up debt. You talk about energy independence and energy costs. And one of the things that we know that isn't helping with that is the ongoing conflict in Iran. Is it time for that conflict to come to an end? We know the House has voted on a number of war powers resolutions. This is a question that if you're elected, could be something that you vote on. Where do you stand on that? Yeah, and Garrett, I'm transparent. When I'm talking to someone, I'm not denying the fact that the Iran war is putting pressure on gas prices, because it is. Now, we've come down a little bit. I think the administration knows that we can't have this go on much longer. But I also think it's important to say why we got in. This is a decade-long situation where Iran's, where, of course, Iranians were targeting Americans. They were killing Americans. We got in to end that conflict. And I think you also have to realize that's what we're trying to do right now. But it's also, you have to listen to people that you represent in the 7th District. And they don't want this to be a forever war. I don't want this to be a forever war. And I think the administration knows that. I think they realize this is something we have to get our objective and wrap this up because it is weighing on energy prices. It's weighing on the American people. They don't want a forever war. Let's talk about the kind of national politics and the kind of the moment here. You know, there's a lot of questions about what what is going to happen kind of nationwide with the balance of power and that kind of thing coming up on on November 3rd. And we'll find out about that soon enough. But I'm curious what your message is to independents, to maybe even Democrats in this district who may be considering voting for you, because this is a race where it could be anyone's kind of thing here. And so what is your message to them about how you would represent them if elected in Congress and not just be a rubber stamp for Speaker Mike Johnson? Right, because we get that question a lot. And here's what I would say, Garrett. First of all, in the primary, we spoke to Republicans. We're now speaking to NPAs and even Democrats. I've had some amazing conversations, not only with Democrats, but progressive Democrats that have considered voting for us, that have trusted us in the past. And you have to win them over. And my message to them is, and I've said this in the primary, you have to have somebody here that has lived in this community. I've raised my family here, that is invested in this community, is going to fight for them. A lot of people feel they're not being heard in Washington. I've got 11 different area sheriffs that support us because they believe in that leadership. I believe people really want to disagree in a better way. I don't think politics has to be as ugly as it is. And I've really been encouraged in the five months. Look, it's been rough at times. I'm not going to say it's not, but you can communicate with someone. I've sat with far left people in their driveway and discussed issues in a very respectful fashion. I want to see us get to that. It doesn't mean they're going to vote for me at the end of the day. It means I hear you. Here's where I stand on the issue and we can discuss those. I'm hopeful I can bring that to Washington. We have to have somebody that listens to the needs and has the relationships, not only in this district, but in Washington to get things done. We have that, I think, this district wants it. I said a lot in the primary. We've been in this headline for the wrong reasons in District 7. We want to get back in the right headlines, promoting our businesses, promoting District 7, and doing what's best for this community. Are there specific issues where you're prepared to maybe break with the Republican Party on that you maybe have different views on than some of the national Republican Party? Yeah, there are. And it all depends how it plays out. Because sometimes at the beginning of legislation, you're on board and things change at the end. But I've said a lot, because people ask me that question. And what I tell them is, look, I got in this primary running against the president's endorsement. That takes courage. I've got an independent voice. That has helped me in this election, being an independent voice. That's what I plan to be in Washington. Look, I'm not going to lie to anybody. I'm going to, certainly, I'm on the conservative side. And I'm going to support a lot of the policies, because those are the policies, whether it's business or other policies that I believe is best for our country and for our district. But I will have no problem standing up and saying, this is something we need to do differently. On a form asking whether you intend to trade stocks, you checked the box that said, I do. You have since kind of walked that back and tried to clarify that a little bit. Will you, though, commit to voters that if you're elected to Congress, you will not trade stocks while in office? Yeah, in full transparency there, there were two people, well, actually, this is the first year Florida has required federal people to sign that form. So it was a little murky. There were two journalists that checked it, me and a South Florida Democrat, both in this race, which I found interesting. The sole reason I checked it was because I wasn't sure about my retirement account. And I didn't want to check it now. And a year from now, I hold stocks in there and people say, you lied on that form. So it was full transparency. I have campaigned against stock trading in Congress. I've got a business mind. I've seen the corruption. You shouldn't sit on a committee in Congress and be able to buy the stock of that company that you know a deal's coming from. So I have no intention of trading stocks. In fact, I want to take it where Congress cannot trade stocks. And what would your plan then be for your current investments, if allowed? That's what we'll have to figure out. We'll have until January to do that. But I also say it has to be fair to the families of Congress because the U.S. markets are where a lot of people get their wealth and they invest in. And so that's why I think you've seen they don't want insider trading, but they also don't want to take them out of the markets completely. And we'll make sure that we justify that. We'll make sure we're legal on that. But I will in no way sit on a committee and trade stocks based on the knowledge we have. And what is your you know, we talked about some of the other some of the big issues, you know, affordability, things like that. What are some of the other issues that you are hearing that matter to voters that maybe not kind of making the news every day? Well, I think you've got a couple different ones. Consumer protection is one that I lean into, but that's something I've done throughout my entire TV career, fighting for consumers. I've represented my mom, who I've seen seniors get scammed. I want to fight for consumers and also for seniors in that situation where they need someone to fight for them to make sure that we're protecting them. We talk about affordability. The one thing you don't want when you're struggling to pay bills is to get scammed by someone. I think we can do a lot more on that front, not only targeting that, but pursuing people and making sure they're prosecuted on that. I think safety is a big issue. I think election integrity is a big issue that we hear. These are issues that we hear a lot from people, you know, our immigration policies. These are things that we talk about a lot at these doors. All right. Well, Ryan Elijah, Republican candidate for 7th Congressional District. We really appreciate you coming in and having this conversation with us. Great to have you. Be with you, Garrett.