Are There Any Hopes For Ohio Republicans To Replace Max Miller?

Republican Ohio Rep. Max Miller still has time to drop his reelection bid, although the Ohio Republican Party ran out of time to find a replacement.

Miller maintained he would remain in the race as some in his party, including Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, called on him to drop out over his ex-wife’s domestic violence allegations. The embattled congressman did not exit the race by the party’s deadlines to replace him, though he could still remove his name from the ballot.

If Miller dropped out by Wednesday the party would have held a special primary election to select its new nominee to run against Democratic Ohio congressional candidate Brian Poindexter in Ohio’s 7th district, according to state law. Three days before, Miller stated in a “special announcement” video that he would remain in the race and denied all of the allegations against him.

The Ohio GOP could have picked a replacement for Miller if he dropped out by Saturday. The party had a deadline of Monday at 4:00 p.m. EDT since it is 86 days away from the Nov. 3 election, according to state law. Under state law, the local Republican Party committee must hold a meeting to select a committee and provide at least two days’ notice for that meeting.

Because of the two days’ notice requirement, Miller would have had to drop out by Saturday to leave enough time for notice and certification by the Monday deadline. He did not withdraw.

A candidate cannot remove their name from the ballot if the election is closer than 70 days away, meaning Miller would have until Aug. 25 to drop out, according to state law. If Miller exited the race by Aug. 25, the state would remove his name from the ballot.

If Miller’s name were removed, Poindexter would remain uncontested and Democrats would gain a seat in the House.

Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, accused him of scalding her with hot water from a pan of eggs in June 2024 and of spraying her with hot water from a sink hose while she laid on the floor in a fetal position. She alleged that he broke their two-year-old daughter’s collarbone and physically abused her in front of their child. Miller accused his ex-wife of fabricating the allegations because she was mentally ill.

Along with Miller’s ex-father-in-law, Republican Sens. Jon Husted of Ohio, Tim Sheehy of Montana, Jim Banks of Indiana, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Katie Britt of Alabama called on Miller to step aside. Husted, who is also facing a competitive race in Ohio, said Thursday that Miller should prioritize the best interests of his daughter over his political career.

“One thing they both seem to agree on is that Ruthie’s best interests should come first,” Husted said. “Those interests will not be served by litigating these matters in public, but by addressing them privately. Given everything they are facing, I do not see how a campaign for Congress benefits any of them. 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.”

President Donald Trump told Miller on the phone Monday that “things aren’t looking good,” indicating that his candidacy was in trouble, according to Axios. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune declined to say whether Miller should drop out.

Moreno told CNN Thursday that that he sent his daughter, granddaughter and wife out of state for their safety. Both Miller and his ex-wife filed restraining orders against each other.

Moreno accused Miller of refusing to give his daughter her stuffed blue bunny, which he said she could not sleep without. Miller posted screenshots to X, claiming that a man who was not on an approved list offered to pick up the bunny.

“@berniemoreno please stop the lies,” Miller said. “As everyone can see in the below screenshots, mine and your daughter’s parenting coordinator reached about the bunny asking if you can come pick it up from me after she forgot it at my house. I said sure. Then, a man who is not on our approved list reaches out to me offering to come to my house to get the bunny, to which I said it was inappropriate of him to insert himself in family business and that I was waiting for you, @berniemoreno, like we agreed upon.”

“My daughter got her bunny back in 14 hours, no thanks to you. Glad this made national news though,” Miller continued.

Screenshots showed a court-ordered parental coordinator, Deborah Kornicke, asking Miller if his ex-father-in-law could stop by and pick up the bunny, to which Miller replied, “Sure.” Before his messages with Kornicke, an individual named Jared asked if he could pick up the bunny, which Miller argued was “inappropriate.”

Miller posted several documents in a Dropbox file online Sunday in an attempt to dispute Moreno’s accusations. The Dropbox had to be deleted because it included naked photographs of his daughter. His attorney, Aaron Minc, took responsibility and called the photo’s release “completely unintentional and a mistake.”

A lawyer for Moreno claimed the photo “could be considered Child Sexual Abuse Material.” The files did not censor their daughter’s name.

During a Tuesday appearance on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” Miller dodged questions on why three separate women accused him of abuse. Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham accused him of abusing her in a Washington Post op-ed from October 2021 and filed a restraining order against him Tuesday.

The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Miller after the congressman requested that one be opened, claiming he had “absolutely nothing to hide.”

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