Republicans lost their chance to save an Ohio House seat over the weekend. The deadline to replace Rep. Max Miller on the ballot in Ohio’s 7th District has passed, and a Miller spokeswoman told The New York Times that he intends to remain in the race. The party is now locked into a candidate its own leaders spent last week publicly urging to quit.
The seat should not be competitive. Donald Trump carried the district by 11 percentage points in 2024. Instead, Republicans are defending it in the middle of a scandal that has drawn condemnation from senators in their own conference and from a Koch-backed advocacy group operating in Ohio.
Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, is the daughter of Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, and she has accused Miller of throwing scalding water at her and holding a gun to her head, and court records detail additional allegations of assault and verbal threats documented during the couple’s proceedings.
Miller attempted to clear his name by releasing a trove of documents, text messages, and emails he said would exonerate him; that material instead undercut his defense, including an admission to some of the physical incidents, which he characterized as unintentional. His attempt to defend himself on camera drew widespread criticism and accelerated the collapse of his standing.
This is not the first time Miller has faced accusations of this kind. Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham accused him of domestic violence years ago, and Republicans continued to back him. He is also currently facing a lawsuit connected to the allegations.
