A looming ballot-replacement deadline has intensified pressure on Rep. Max Miller, who denies abuse allegations from his ex-wife and rejects calls to leave the race.
Rep. Max Miller says he will remain in the reelection contest for Ohio’s 7th Congressional District as Republicans approach a Wednesday deadline to replace him on the ballot. The decision comes amid unproven abuse allegations by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, and a public call from her father, Sen. Bernie Moreno, that Miller should not serve in Congress.
Miller has categorically denied abusing Emily Moreno or their young daughter. The allegations have not been proved, and available reporting does not establish that Miller has been criminally convicted in connection with them.
The ballot deadline changes the political calculation
Miller represents a district that had been a reliable Republican seat and was carried by President Donald Trump by double digits in 2024, according to the reported account. But internal Democratic and Republican polling showed Miller one point ahead of the Democratic nominee before Bernie Moreno’s public statement and before Democrats had spent money highlighting the allegations.
Miller has said he will not leave voluntarily. That means a different nominee would require significant pressure from party leaders or a change in Miller’s own decision before the deadline.
Republicans must weigh two difficult possibilities: retaining Miller while the campaign is dominated by serious, unresolved accusations, or replacing an incumbent in a district once viewed as secure. It remains unclear how many Ohio Republicans, donors or voters will follow Moreno’s lead.
Miller rejects the allegations and calls for process
In a livestream lasting roughly 20 minutes, Miller denied the accusations and argued that they were not credible. He said his ex-wife had made friendly overtures after incidents she later described as abusive.
Miller also pointed to his continued joint custody of their daughter after years of court conflict. He has argued that this shows courts do not regard him as a threat.
His position rests on two related claims: that the allegations are false and that unproven accusations should not force a sitting representative from office. Miller said that if the allegations were true, he would be in jail.
House Speaker Mike Johnson similarly stressed that the key word is “allegation” and said accusations should proceed through an official process, including the House Ethics Committee where appropriate.
Party leaders offer conflicting responses
Trump said he had always considered Miller a good person, called the situation sad and said the claims were accusations that the parties should sort out. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio called the matter a family issue and said he hoped Miller would win reelection.
Those responses emphasize due process and reflect concern that abandoning an incumbent before allegations are adjudicated could establish what supporters view as an unfair precedent.
Bernie Moreno has taken a sharply different view. His intervention has made it harder for fellow Republicans to treat the conflict solely as a private matter, while not determining by itself whether Miller loses party backing.
Moreno’s intervention carries personal weight
Bernie Moreno is Emily Moreno’s father, Miller’s former father-in-law and the grandfather of the child involved in the family’s custody case. After Miller’s livestream, the senator said Miller had failed any basic standard of character for elected office.
Moreno said he was concerned for his granddaughter during the times she is in Miller’s custody. He also said Miller should seek professional help and described what he called a pattern of abuse.
By saying Miller should not serve in the House, Moreno moved a conflict that had largely played out through family-court proceedings and public filings into an open dispute over political fitness. The senator’s public break with a former family member carries a different weight from ordinary campaign criticism.
The family case remains unresolved
Miller and Emily Moreno divorced in 2024 and have continued to fight over custody. According to court documents described by The New York Times, Emily Moreno has accused Miller of throwing hot water from a skillet onto her chest and stomach, holding a gun to her head, and pushing her against a wall, causing her head to strike it.
She has also alleged that Miller fractured their daughter’s collarbone and bruised her shoulder. These are allegations, not findings of guilt.
The litigation has involved competing claims concerning child abuse, stalking and restraining orders. Family-court proceedings can produce sharply conflicting accounts, a factor cited by Republicans who have urged restraint before making political judgments.
Several questions remain open: whether the House Ethics Committee will act, whether the custody litigation produces new developments, and whether Trump or other national Republican figures alter their positions before the ballot deadline. For now, Miller remains a candidate, and the dispute continues to test Republican political judgment in Ohio.
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