GOP rising star helped topple Trump-backed incumbent. Now he's caught leadership's eye

It’s June 2026 and the summer’s intense heat is slowly creeping across the East Coast. In Florida, a different kind of heat is threatening to burn Republicans — a firestorm of political backlash that could at best force the GOP to spend millions more in the midterms, and at worst cost the party what should be a safely red House seat.

Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., was one of the first to sound the alarm publicly about embattled Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., and the scandals that could have sandbagged his re-election chances.