‘Back off’: White House told GOP to leave scuzzy Rep. Max Miller alone
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/11/800082729/elections/back-off-white-house-told-gop-to-leave-scuzzy-rep-max-miller-alone/
‘Back off’: White House told GOP to leave scuzzy Rep. Max Miller alone
President Donald Trump’s political team told Ohio Republicans to stop trying to push embattled GOP Rep. Max Miller out of his House contest, Politico reported on Monday—a grotesque directive intended for purely political reasons.
The political staffers apparently told Ohio Republicans that Miller wasn’t going to drop out of the race no matter what, and that continued criticism of Miller for his alleged acts of domestic violence would make “messaging” harder and hurt the GOP’s chances of holding on to his otherwise strongly Republican House seat in November.
“They basically told us to back off and let the voters decide,” an unnamed “Ohio Republican involved in the conversations” told Politico.
Miller is accused of a host of disturbing conduct, including that he allegedly held a gun to his ex-wife’s head, broke the collarbone of his two-year-old daughter, and weaponized the family court system to torture the same two-year-old by withholding her comfort stuffed animal.
Miller has denied the allegations—even though evidence he himself released backs up the claims—and is staying in the contest.
Yet rather than disown Miller, Republicans are now sticking by him because they need his seat if they have any chance of holding onto their slim House majority this fall. In fact, Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters said Sunday that the GOP will spend money to help Miller win—actively supporting someone that a number of Republican lawmakers have admitted is a dangerous abuser who belongs nowhere near the Capitol.
“We’re gonna support our nominees,” Gruters told NewsNation. “We need to make sure we hold the majorities. Max, I’m sure, is on that side, but listen, everybody has to prove that they are capable of winning, and then we’re going to look at our resources and make the decisions.”
Yes, the same party that condemned Democrats for not disavowing now-former Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner is sticking by Miller.
Disturbingly, it seems Republicans have gotten the message to stop attacking Miller now that the party is stuck with him as their nominee. That includes Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, whose daughter is Miller’s ex-wife who accused him of the violence.
Moreno had finally spoken out about the abuse allegations, telling reporters on Aug. 4: “My daughter lives in constant fear of this man. … You can’t fathom what that makes me feel like when the dad’s number one job is to protect your kids. … If there’s any minimum standard for being an elected official, he fails to meet that minimum basic standard. I don’t care about the politics at all.”
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Moreno says he… pic.twitter.com/J1ey8ZfBLl— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 4, 2026
But now that Miller is the nominee and Republicans are sticking with him, Moreno has once again clammed up.
“I’ve said all I’m going to say,” Moreno said Monday.
As for Miller’s reelection chances … they’re not looking good. A poll released Monday showed Miller trailing Democratic nominee Brian Poindexter by 8 percentage points. And a Republican poll released last week showed Miller trailing Poindexter by 14 points, with the pollster declaring that “the data does not support a viable path to victory” for him.
Given his scandals, the Cook Political Report on Monday moved Miller’s race to the toss-up column.
“The serious nature of the allegations—he’s been accused of throwing hot water at his wife, holding a gun to her head and fracturing his two-year-old daughter’s collarbone—make it much more difficult for Miller to hold his northeast Ohio seat, which typically favors Republicans but is a light enough shade of red to be competitive in a Democratic wave year,” the Cook Political Report’s Erin Covey wrote in a piece explaining the race rating change. “Since Miller is staying in the race, we’re moving this race from Likely Republican to Toss Up.”
What’s more, sticking by Miller could hurt other Republicans in Ohio, who will face continued questions about their party’s support of an accused domestic abuser.
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