Dem
47
GOP
53
Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) has a decision to make—today. Three women—including his ex-wife, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH)—have accused him of domestic violence. House Republicans want him to drop his reelection bid—and ideally resign from Congress right now. They don't like the contrast with Graham Platner, who Democrats hounded until he dropped out of the Maine Senate race. If Miller stays in, Democrats are going to be saying: "When one of our guys misbehaves, we force him out. When one of yours does, you cover up for him." Violence against women is probably not a selling point in the midterms—at least not with Democrats and most independents.
Here's the problem. The deadline for dropping out is today. If Miller fails to withdraw from the race by 4 p.m. today, his name will appear on the ballot, even if he drops out later. This will give Democrats a big target. Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), who is in a tough race of his own, has now called on Miller to drop out and resign from Congress.
So far, Miller has resisted. He went on a media tour defending himself and denying all the accusations. However, he struggled with simple questions like whether he has used illegal drugs, and if so, when. The district is a working-class R+5 district in northeastern Ohio and the Democrats have the ideal opponent for Miller, a 47-year-old iron worker named Brian Poindexter. He does not believe in a "vote for me because he sucks" strategy. He said: "I never got in this race to run because Max Miller is terrible in his personal life. I got in it to run because of policies that hurt us." Poindexter is a hard-hat progressive.
Poindexter has talked about friends who were pushed into a financial crisis by one emergency like a blown engine or a surgery. They have had to start GoFundMe campaigns to try to survive. They are tired of a system where they are working hard and can't afford a decent life. Poindexter has been motivated by Bernie Sanders and James Talarico. But he said he was not carrying the flag for the Democratic Party. He is carrying it for workers. Naturally, Miller has called him a socialist. It isn't working though. A recent polls has Poindexter ahead of Miller by 5 points even though Trump carried the district by 11 points in 2024.
If Miller is still in tomorrow and later drops out, the Republican county chairs in OH-07 would pick a new candidate, but Miller's name would still be the one on the ballot. Former Rep. Jim Renacci (R) and state Rep. Mike Dovilla (R) have expressed interest in taking Miller's place. (V)