Ohio Rep. Max Miller Stays on Ballot as Replacement Deadline Passes
The deadline for Republicans to replace Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) on the November ballot passed Monday at 4 p.m. ET, cementing the embattled congressman as the party’s nominee in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District despite domestic abuse allegations that have reshaped what was once considered a safe Republican seat. According to AP News, Miller would have had to formally withdraw by Saturday, August 8, to allow time for the required 48-hour notice of a meeting of Republican Party chairs from the four Ohio counties in his district.
Miller, 37, has steadfastly refused to exit the race, telling CNN “I’m not going anywhere” and insisting in a Newsmax interview that “there’s no chance that I’m removing myself from this race.” His determination to press forward has created significant headaches for a Republican Party defending a narrow House majority in the 2026 midterms, with both of Ohio’s Republican senators publicly urging him to step aside.
The Allegations
Emily Moreno, Miller’s ex-wife and the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), has accused the congressman of throwing hot water at her, hitting her, holding a gun to her head while she was changing their daughter’s diaper, and throwing her against a wall during their marriage. Miller has denied all allegations, stating in an August 2 livestream that “no court, no agency has ever substantiated any allegation of abuse against me. No criminal charge has ever been filed against me.”
A Mother Jones investigation published July 18 obtained more than 2,000 pages of court filings and police reports revealing additional allegations, including that Miller’s 2-year-old daughter suffered a broken collarbone under circumstances that investigators found suspicious. A detective’s summary noted that “the bruising surrounding the clavicle fracture made the injury suspicious” and that the injury “would have required a high degree of impact to occur.” A child protection specialist characterized the bruising as resembling a “handprint.”
The Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services ultimately deemed the abuse investigation “unsubstantiated,” and Miller has said he had nothing to do with the injury, suggesting it may have been caused by a seat belt. The Mother Jones report also revealed toxicology records showing Miller had MDMA and Klonopin in his system at the time of a 2011 car crash, and documented an implicit threat Miller made to his former father-in-law.
Republican Pressure Mounts
The political fallout has been swift and severe. Sen. Bernie Moreno, Miller’s former father-in-law, said in an August 2 post that “if there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Representatives.” Moreno also wrote that Miller “needs serious psychological help. He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter.”
Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) called on Miller to resign his House seat and abandon his fall campaign, writing on X that “I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress to focus on what is in the best interest of his daughter.” Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) warned that “staying in this race makes it far more likely we lose this seat and hand Democrats a majority to impeach President Trump.”
The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into whether Miller “may have engaged in domestic violence and abuse or illegal drug use,” adding another layer of legal and political peril to his campaign.
President Donald Trump, who endorsed Miller as the first candidate in his post-January 6 purge of impeachment-supporting Republicans, has stopped short of calling for Miller to withdraw. Trump told reporters he’s “not going to get involved in that” and described the situation as “a very sad situation,” while reportedly cautioning Miller privately that his race would be tough.
A Competitive Race Takes Shape
Miller’s Democratic challenger, Brian Poindexter, a 46-year-old Brook Park city councilman and union ironworker, has seized on the controversy. “It’s unfortunate that Miller has chosen to keep putting his ex-wife and her family through this nightmare in the public spotlight,” Poindexter said in a statement Monday. “But let me be perfectly clear. I got into this campaign to fight for my neighbors and for working people across this district.”
Poindexter has won endorsements from the Ironworkers International, United Auto Workers, AFSCME, Ohio AFL-CIO, and Sen. Bernie Sanders. The Cook Political Report downgraded the race from “Solid Republican” to “Likely Republican” on June 18, and political analysts suggest the district could now be in play.
“This is a huge early Christmas gift to Democrats,” said David Cohen, a University of Akron political analyst, speaking to Ideastream Public Media. “The stories of the alleged abuse are so disturbing that maybe it doesn’t turn off extremely conservative voters so much that they vote for the Democrat, but it may turn them off so that they don’t actually vote in this race.”
Prediction market Kalshi gave Miller only a 26% chance of winning re-election as of August 10, down from 64% in July. Miller has raised about $2.1 million compared to Poindexter’s $603,000, and has said he will spend $1 million of his own money on the campaign.
The district, which spans from Lake Erie south to Amish country in Holmes County, leans 55%-44% Republican according to Dave’s Redistricting. Trump won it comfortably in 2024, but Miller secured only 51% of the vote in a three-way contest that included former congressman Dennis Kucinich as an independent.
What’s Next
The House Ethics Committee investigation is expected to take several weeks, and political analyst Tom Sutton noted that Miller appears to be “banking on the possibility that the ethics committee will come out with something that is less than a censure.”
Meanwhile, the campaign has already faced disruption. A Strongsville GOP rally scheduled for Monday was canceled due to alleged threats, though Brunswick Police said they had not received or been made aware of any threats surrounding the event.
With the replacement deadline now passed, Republicans have no mechanism to swap Miller off the ballot. The party must decide whether to invest resources in defending a seat that was once considered safe, or to write it off as Democrats pour money into a district that could help determine control of the House.
For Miller, the path forward is clear in his own mind. “I know there are people that are concerned about my ability to win this race right now, but I don’t share that,” he said in a statement. “I am invested in this election in every way, and I will invest the resources into my campaign to win.”
Whether voters in Ohio’s 7th District share his confidence will become clear on November 3.