Embattled GOP Rep. Max Miller was ousted Tuesday by his Bernie Sanders-backed challenger, Brian Poindexter, following abuse accusations by Miller’s ex-wife and controversy over his treatment of their two-year-old daughter.
Miller’s northeastern Ohio district had backed President Trump by 11 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, while the congressman himself had cruised to a second term by almost 15 percentage points.
But his re-election bid was hampered by a nasty public custody battle with his estranged spouse Emily Moreno, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio).
Poindexter led Miller 54% to 46% as of midnight.
To cap off a difficult week for Miller, the congressman’s trial in his custody fight will kick off on Thursday.
“I am disappointed at this evening’s election results,” Miller posted on X. “I am very grateful for every one of you that came out and voted for me. I will always be Team Ohio and Team America!”
In February, the couple’s two-year-old daughter suffered a broken collarbone and “what appeared to be a handprint bruise” on her shoulder, according to a police report. Emily later claimed she heard their daughter say, “Daddy kill you.”
The matter was investigated by the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS), which found no evidence Miller harmed his child.
Emily also accused Miller of pushing her during a Feb. 1 custody transfer, which he denied, along with her claims that he intentionally poured hot water on her during an argument in August 2024.
Miller’s former wife also raised concerns about possible drug use and erratic behavior, while Bernie Moreno urged the congressman to drop out of the race ahead of an August deadline to do so, calling him “a danger to my daughter” and claiming that “I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter.”
“If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them,” added Moreno.
Miller, a former special assistant to the president during Donald Trump’s first term, and Emily Moreno got married at New Jersey’s Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in 2022. Miller filed for divorce on their second anniversary in 2024 and has since sued her for defamation.
Miller has faced abuse accusations before. Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham described an abusive relationship with an ex-boyfriend, who she later identified as Miller, in her 2021 memoir, “I’ll Take Your Questions Now.”
Miller sued Grisham for defamation, but the case was settled in August 2023, weeks before it was due to go to trial. In July, Grisham sued Miller, alleging that he broke their nondisclosure agreement during a June interview with Spectrum News in which he implied she invented the abuse claims to help sell her book.
Poindexter, a union ironworker who served as a city councilman in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park, had his own controversies to navigate, having previously been arrested and accused of consuming crack cocaine.
In 2013, he was arrested for allegedly slapping a stranger “for no known reason,” the Washington Free Beacon reported.
