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A deadline came and went this afternoon that could shift the balance of power in Washington—and further rip apart a prominent political family. Today at 4 was the Ohio Republican Party’s last chance to replace Rep. Max Miller, a GOP congressman accused of abuse, on the November ballot. But Miller doesn’t want to go. He denies the allegations—including from his ex-wife, a U.S. senator’s daughter—and insists he’ll stay in the race. Miller’s stubbornness echoes Donald Trump’s scandal playbook, but it may also hand Democrats his seat. Here’s how.

Hold on—“Max Miller” sounds like a fictional Republican politician. Who is this guy?

Miller is a former Marine Corps Reserve corporal who worked for Trump’s 2016 campaign before joining the first Trump administration as an aide. He won a seat in Congress in 2022, the same year he and Emily Moreno—whose father is Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, a staunch Trump ally—married at one of Trump’s golf clubs. Miller is now running for a third term.

What are the allegations against him? 

They’re serious. Now divorced, Miller and Emily Moreno are involved in a custody battle over their 2-year-old daughter. Moreno has accused Miller of holding a gun to her head, shoving her against a wall, throwing scalding water at her, and fracturing their daughter’s collarbone. According to Bernie Moreno, Miller once refused to turn over a favorite stuffed animal of the couple’s daughter during a custody exchange. In a frankly stomach-churning CNN interview with Jake Tapper last week, Miller called the allegations “false and baseless”—but also couldn’t say when he last used illegal drugs and dodged responsibility for posting documents meant to exonerate him that reportedly included a partially nude photo of his toddler.

Ugly accusations often fly........

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