With Max Miller declining to leave the race, Ohio Republicans must weigh a looming ballot deadline, a competitive House seat and unresolved allegations he denies.
Republicans face a Wednesday deadline to replace Rep. Max Miller on the ballot in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District. Miller has said he will remain in his reelection race despite abuse allegations involving his former wife, Emily Moreno, and their daughter.
That stance has intensified pressure on a party already divided over how to respond. The allegations have not been proved, and available reporting does not establish that Miller has been criminally convicted in connection with them.
A ballot decision looms in a more competitive district
Miller represents a district described as a reliable Republican stronghold that President Donald Trump carried by double digits in 2024. Yet the campaign was already showing signs of vulnerability before Sen. Bernie Moreno publicly criticized Miller.
Internal Democratic and Republican polling showed Miller one point ahead of the Democratic nominee before Moreno spoke out and before Democrats had spent money highlighting the allegations.
Because Miller says he is staying in the race, replacing him would require substantial pressure from party leaders or a reversal by Miller himself. The decision carries added weight while control of the House is closely contested.
Keeping Miller could expose Republicans to sustained scrutiny. Replacing an incumbent, meanwhile, could disrupt a race in a district the party had once expected to hold comfortably.
Party leaders have not taken one position
House Speaker Mike Johnson has urged caution, saying the key word is “allegation” and that the matter should go through an official process, including the House Ethics Committee where appropriate.
Trump said he had always considered Miller a good person and called the situation sad, while emphasizing that the claims were accusations and that the parties should sort them out. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio has also defended Miller, calling the dispute a family matter and saying he hoped Miller would win reelection.
Some Republicans have argued that abandoning an elected official before claims are adjudicated could set an unfair precedent. Their position has left the party without a united push to remove Miller from the ballot.
It remains unclear whether the House Ethics Committee will act, or whether Trump and other national Republican figures will change their positions before the deadline.
Miller says he will not leave the race
Miller has categorically denied abusing Emily Moreno or their daughter. During a roughly 20-minute livestream, he said the accusations were not credible and cited instances in which he said his ex-wife made friendly overtures after the alleged incidents.
He also pointed to his continued joint custody of their daughter after years of litigation. Miller argued that this shows the courts do not view him as a threat.
His most direct defense is that he would be in jail if the accusations were true. Miller says he should not be forced out of office over claims he describes as false and unproven.
For now, he remains a candidate, leaving Ohio Republicans to decide whether unresolved allegations should alter the race.
Bernie Moreno’s intervention carries a family connection
Bernie Moreno is Miller’s former father-in-law, Emily Moreno’s father and the grandfather of the child at the center of the family’s ongoing custody dispute. His public intervention followed Miller’s livestream denial.
Moreno said Miller had failed a basic standard of character for elected office and should not serve in Congress. He said he was concerned about his granddaughter during periods when she is in Miller’s custody.
Moreno also said Miller should seek professional help and described what he called a pattern of abuse. His position is that the seriousness of the allegations, combined with his direct family connection, means Miller should not continue as a congressional candidate.
The rebuke changed the political dynamic because it came from a close family member rather than a Democratic opponent or outside critic. It is unclear how many Ohio Republicans will embrace Moreno’s view.
The court dispute has produced competing claims
Miller and Emily Moreno divorced in 2024 and have remained in a custody dispute. According to court documents described by The New York Times, Emily Moreno has accused Miller of throwing hot water from a skillet onto her chest and stomach, holding a gun to her head, and pushing her into a wall, causing her head to strike it.
She has also alleged that Miller fractured their daughter’s collarbone and bruised her shoulder. Those are allegations, not findings of guilt.
The litigation has included competing claims involving child abuse, stalking and restraining orders. Miller and some allies stress that the accusations have not been adjudicated as proof of wrongdoing.
No outcome has been established in the central allegations, and it is unclear whether the family court dispute will produce additional developments. The dispute is no longer only a private family conflict: it has become a consequential question for Miller’s campaign and for Ohio Republicans confronting the ballot deadline.
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