Trump-Backed Max Miller Loses Ohio Congress Seat to Democrat Brian Poindexter

Republican Max Miller has lost his congressional seat in the US state of Ohio. Amid controversy over domestic abuse allegations against him, Democrat Brian Poindexter won the race and will head to Congress next year. Miller had been endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Poindexter is an ironworker. He has worked as an apprentice instructor at Ironworkers Local 17 and as a union organiser. His father was a machinist and his grandfather a unionised auto worker, a working-class family background that featured in his campaign.

Miller's former wife Emily Moreno is the daughter of Republican US Senator Bernie Moreno. Miller and Moreno married in 2022 at Trump's club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Moreno has alleged that Miller held a gun to her head and scalded her with boiling water. She also alleged that their toddler daughter, born in 2023, suffered a broken collarbone due to Miller's actions.

Miller denies the abuse allegations and has filed a defamation case against his wife over the claims. Moreno and Miller finalised their divorce in 2025.

In the closing days of the campaign, Trump endorsed Miller. Writing on Truth Social, he said Miller had his complete and total endorsement for re-election and urged voters to get out and vote for him.

In an August 2026 interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Miller accused three women, including his ex-wife, of lying about assault allegations against him.

In a campaign ad released in mid-October, Miller said divorce is a painful reality for far too many families and that, because of politics, his family's heartbreak had made national news for two years. He also claimed the allegations had been proven false time and again. New York Magazine noted that this is untrue: neither Miller nor anyone else was found at fault in the investigation of his daughter's broken collarbone, and the domestic assault allegations have not been formally investigated.

A House ethics committee is investigating Miller over allegations of domestic violence and drug use.

Ahead of the deadline for Miller to drop out of the race in early August 2026, he faced calls to resign, including from Senator Moreno. Moreno posted that if there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Miller fails them, and that he should not serve in the House of Representatives.