Miller saga muddles midterm landscape for Ohio GOP

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Husted, GOP Ohio senator facing reelection, calls on Miller to resign over abuse allegations

Husted, GOP Ohio senator facing reelection, calls on Miller to resign over abuse allegations

The controversy around Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) is complicating the midterm landscape for Ohio Republicans as Democrats build momentum in the Buckeye State, a former battleground that’s become a red state in the Trump era.

Miller, who is running for a third term in a competitive House district, is facing calls to step down after allegations of domestic abuse toward his ex-wife, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio). He has forcefully denied the claims, but the controversy could make his red seat an easier pick-up opportunity for Democrats in the high-stakes fight for House control. 

Ohio is also host to a highly competitive Senate race, where former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) has lodged a comeback bid against incumbent Sen. Jon Husted (R) that could bolster Democrats’ chances of taking back the upper chamber this fall — plus a neck-and-neck race for Ohio governor in the state that’s been GOP-led for more than a decade.  

“In an environment where Republicans have been particularly strong in Ohio, this year’s environment is going to be much more challenging for them, and this certainly doesn’t help things,” said Robert Alexander, a political science professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, on the Miller developments. 

“I think that the fact that so much of the attention is on Republicans is a good thing for Democrats,” he added. “The more it’s about Republicans, I think the better that Democrats will likely do.”

Miller has denied allegations from his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, in a New York Times report last week that the Ohio lawmaker scalded her chest with hot water, held a gun to her head and fractured their daughter’s collarbone, among other allegations. The pair divorced in 2025 and have since been locked in a bitter custody battle over their daughter. 

The House Ethics Committee announced Monday that it’s investigating allegations of domestic........

© The Hill