Trump White House blocks efforts to push Rep. Max Miller out of race amid abuse allegations

Representative Max Miller (R-Ohio) will remain on the ballot in Ohio's 7th Congressional District after the August 10, 2026 deadline passed without his withdrawal. Despite severe allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife Emily Moreno, which Miller denies, Donald Trump's White House team blocked efforts by Ohio Republicans to pressure Miller to drop out. The political fallout has prompted calls for his resignation from GOP Senators Bernie Moreno, Jim Banks, and Jon Husted, while the Cook Political Report shifted the once-safe Republican seat to a "Toss Up" as polling shows Miller trailing Democrat Brian Poindexter by 14 points.

Miller stays in reelection race

• ▪To allow local party chairs enough time to name a replacement candidate on the ballot by the August 10, 2026 deadline, Representative Max Miller would have had to withdraw by the evening of August 8, 2026.
• ▪Representative Max Miller of Ohio remained on the ballot for reelection in Ohio's 7th Congressional District after the August 10, 2026 deadline passed for county chairs to nominate a replacement candidate.

White House blocks pressure campaign

• ▪White House officials advised Republican leaders that Representative Max Miller's determination to stay in the race would nullify efforts to force him out, leaving leaders to defend his campaign against Democratic challenger Brian Poindexter.
• ▪President Donald Trump's team instructed Ohio Republicans not to publicly pressure Representative Max Miller to drop out of the race, believing that Miller would refuse to do so.

Republican calls for resignation

• ▪Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, who is Representative Max Miller's former father-in-law, called for Miller to resign from Congress, describing him as a danger to his daughter.
• ▪United States Senator Jim Banks and Ohio Senator Jon Husted joined other Republican officials in calling for Representative Max Miller to resign from Congress and end his reelection bid.

Ohio 7th District competitiveness

• ▪A co/efficient polling memo showed Democratic challenger Brian Poindexter leading Representative Max Miller by 14 points, compared to a previous survey showing a 5-point margin.
• ▪The nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted Ohio's 7th Congressional District from "Likely Republican" to "Toss Up" due to the domestic violence allegations against Representative Max Miller.
• ▪Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters indicated on August 9, 2026, that the national party would continue to support Representative Max Miller as its nominee.

Domestic abuse allegations denied

• ▪Representative Max Miller was never charged with a crime, and the Department of Children and Family Services did not find evidence to substantiate the child abuse allegations, according to court records.
• ▪Representative Max Miller denied allegations from his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, that he held a gun to her head, threw scalding water at her, and fractured their daughter's collarbone.

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