In a congressional district President Trump won by 11 points, incumbent U.S. Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) is down eight points in the latest polling.
Miller was first elected to this seat in 2022. Back in 2024, he won reelection by nearly 11 points (55.3 to 44.6 percent). In this cycle, however, a brutal scandal has cost him majority support in poll after poll, including this latest one by Tavern Research, which shows Miller losing to his Democrat opponent, Brian Poindexter, by eight points, 46 percent to 54 percent.
An early August poll from a Republican pollster had Miller losing to Poindexter by 14 points, 33 to 47 percent. Another poll taken around the same time by a different Republican firm showed Miller down by five points, 44 to 39 percent.
Miller is dealing with the serious headwinds that come from a domestic abuse scandal involving his ex-wife and her father, who just so happens to be Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno.
The ex-wife claims Miller shoved and pushed her, hurled a scalding pot of hot water at her, and also put a gun to her head. Most damning is the accusation of the congressman being at fault for a collarbone fracture suffered by his two-year-old daughter.
What’s more, there are allegations of drug use, harassment, and violence toward previous girlfriends.
Miller has strongly denied the allegations, refused to withdraw from the race (despite calls from many Republicans, including his own father-in-law), and went so far as to loan his own campaign $1 million.
And now what was a safe GOP seat in an election cycle with the Republican Party on defense is in real danger of flipping.
Nevertheless, this is largely a he said/she said case with no conclusive proof of any wrongdoing on Miller’s part. Child Services looked into the collarbone issue and came away with a ruling of “unsubstantiated” on the abuse claim.
We’ll see what voters say in November. Me? Based on what I know now, I’d still vote for him because I believe in the presumption of innocence and have seen too many innocent people — all men — have their lives, names, careers, and reputations ruined either by unsubstantiated claims or allegations that would later fail to pass muster in a courtroom (Johnny Depp, Michael Jackson, Kevin Spacey, etc.).
Miller’s ex-wife never pressed any charges that I have found, nor did she file a police report or request a restraining order. This is all being alleged in divorce and custody battles, an arena where emotions and agendas run hot.
We should all be tired of the kangaroo court of public opinion, which has proven equally destructive and unreliable. The benefit of the doubt must always go to the accused, and I’m not about to risk handing the U.S House over to child mutilators based on divorce allegations alone.
Read the full article here