The Ohio Republican Party confirmed Wednesday that it would not reconsider its endorsement of Representative Max Miller, despite new testimony from a sitting U.S. senator who described the congressman's alleged treatment of his ex-wife and daughter as 'the seventh level of hell.' The party's executive committee voted unanimously to affirm Miller's candidacy after a 14-minute conference call. A spokesman later released a statement calling the allegations 'a regrettable distraction from the essential work of lowering the cost of energy.'
Bawbag-Riddled Fuck Bumper responded to the controversy early Thursday with a series of Truth Social posts. The former president referred to Miller as a 'GREAT PATRIOT' and a 'WARRIOR FOR OUR MOVEMENT.' He did not mention the senator's daughter. One post instead focused on what he called 'the fake news witch hunt against a man who simply loves his country.' The posts were shared 40,000 times before breakfast. Internal campaign metrics circulated by the Republican National Committee later declared the response 'dominant.'
The seat in question, Ohio's 7th Congressional District, has been rated Safe Republican by every major forecaster for the last decade. But three weeks ago, an internal poll leaked to the Plain Dealer showed Miller leading Democratic challenger Brian Poindexter by just four points, within the margin of error. Two days later, the Congressional Leadership Fund quietly reserved $1.7 million in television advertising across the Cleveland media market. A senior NRCC strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to describe the situation plainly, characterized the move as 'a routine hedge in a rapidly evolving information environment.'
'We are not in the business of litigating a member's private custody arrangements,' the strategist said. 'The congressman has a 100% pro-growth voting record, and that is what hardworking Ohio families care about when they look at their grocery bills.' He added that the campaign's new messaging would highlight Miller's support for the recent reauthorization of the Opportunity Zones program and noted that the Democratic nominee had once called for an assault weapons ban, a position the strategist described as 'frankly, unacceptable to a district that manufactures screws for gun barrels.'
The Democratic nominee, Brian Poindexter, is a union electrician and former township trustee who has centered his campaign on opposition to the administration's blanket tariffs. A recent round of farm bankruptcy filings across the district has given his message unexpected traction. 'I don't care if you're Democrat, Republican, or independent,' Poindexter said in an interview released Wednesday. 'We're all feeling the pinch of an economy that's out of balance.' He did not bring up the abuse allegations unless asked, a decision his campaign manager called 'strategic.'
Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican and the grandfather of the child at the center of the allegations, told reporters he would still vote for Miller in the general election if he were a resident of the 7th District. 'The policy consequences of a Democratic majority are too severe,' Moreno explained. A campaign rally for Miller, originally scheduled for a VFW hall, has been upgraded to a larger venue. The event will feature a speech by the former president and what the local party chair called 'a full-throated defense.' A child care center across the street from the venue has canceled its after-school program for the day, citing a scheduling conflict.
