Ohio Republicans no longer have a legal path to remove Rep. Max Miller from the November ballot. A Saturday withdrawal deadline passed without action from the two-term congressman. That closed the last practical window for his party to replace him with a new nominee in the 7th Congressional District.
Miller’s campaign spokesperson, Abigail Angelos, told The New York Times on Saturday that he plans to stay in the race. He faces domestic abuse allegations from his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), which he denies.
The withdrawal clock ran out before Republicans could act
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ohio Revised Code Section 3513.31 gave county party leaders a narrow path to replace Miller. But he had to formally withdraw in time to meet a mandatory two-day notice period before a certification meeting scheduled for Monday at 4 p.m. ET. Saturday was the last day he could have filed to make that timeline work.
He did not. The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections website still listed him as an active candidate early Sunday.
Two days earlier, Miller signaled the opposite of retreat. He loaned his own campaign $1 million, effectively self-funding a fight his party leadership did not choose.
Ohio law left no room to force him out
State law does not give party officials a mechanism to remove a certified nominee against his will once the filing window closes. That distinction matters now. Republicans in the district, which leans conservative but not overwhelmingly so, are left with a candidate under criminal-adjacent scrutiny and no procedural exit ramp before voters weigh in.
Miller told supporters he intends to win regardless of the controversy. ‘I’m not getting out of this race, and I’m winning in November.’
The allegations stretch across two relationships and now two lawsuits
Emily Moreno has accused Miller of physical abuse during their marriage. Her family has described one incident as a burn caused by hot water and separately alleged that he broke her collarbone. Miller has denied the allegations outright and sued her for defamation.
This is not Miller’s first such dispute. He previously sued former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, an ex-girlfriend who also accused him of abuse, before dropping that suit under a 2023 settlement. Grisham sued him last month, alleging he violated the settlement’s nondisparagement terms, reopening a fight both sides had apparently closed two years earlier.
Separately, a Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services investigation found insufficient evidence to substantiate a related child abuse claim involving the couple’s daughter. Miller has cited that finding publicly in his own defense.
House ethics investigators opened their own inquiry
The House Committee on Ethics confirmed it is reviewing whether Miller violated the chamber’s code of conduct through domestic violence, abuse or illegal drug use. Miller had requested an investigation into himself, though the committee did not say his request is what triggered the formal review.
Miller’s response to the allegations generated its own fallout. He released documents, photos, and recordings intended to rebut Moreno’s claims, but the files repeatedly identified the couple’s young daughter and disclosed his ex-wife’s home address.
His attorney later apologized for failing to remove one image before the release.
His own former father-in-law broke ranks first
Bernie Moreno had stayed largely quiet on his son-in-law’s conduct for months. That changed over the weekend of Aug. 2. The senator publicly called on Miller to resign, arguing Miller endangers both his daughter and granddaughter and is unfit to keep serving in Congress.
Emily Moreno, describing the toll of the past several months, told reporters: ‘This is truly the seventh level of hell.’
A safely red seat is suddenly competitive
Donald Trump carried Ohio’s 7th District by roughly 11 points in 2024, 10 points in 2020 and 12 points in 2016, a comfortable enough margin that the seat rarely drew national attention before this year. Miller now faces Democrat Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker, in a race Axios describes as a potential Democratic pickup rather than a formality.
Turnout data adds another wrinkle. Democratic primary participation in Ohio rose roughly 46% from 2022. That increase came even as redistricting made the district slightly more Republican-leaning this cycle. The Cook Political Report still rates the seat as leaning toward the GOP. But that rating predates the events of the past two weeks.
Miller is not the only vulnerable House Republican navigating a personal scandal heading into the midterms. Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina faces his own pressure to step aside after a House Ethics Committee report detailed alleged violations of the chamber’s sexual harassment policy. The case has left GOP leadership managing two separate liabilities in competitive districts at once.
What happens between now and November
The Monday 4 p.m. ET certification deadline technically remains on Ohio’s calendar. But without a timely withdrawal and the required committee notice already in motion, party officials appear to have no mechanism left to act. Barring a late reversal from Miller himself, his name stays on the ballot as the Republican nominee.
That leaves national Republicans, who are already defending a narrow House majority, managing a race they did not choose and can no longer reshape through party process. The outcome now rests entirely with voters in a district that spent a decade being safe until this one.
