Democrat Brian Poindexter, a union worker and local councilman, has beaten out Republican Rep. Max Miller in the race for Ohio’s seventh congressional district in a race that became dominated by domestic abuse allegations against the incumbent.
The AP called the race shortly before 1:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
Miller’s defeat comes after domestic abuse allegations, which he denies, shook his campaign, spurring Democrats to invest more in Poindexter’s bid despite President Donald Trump winning the district by 11 points in 2024.
Poindexter, 46, is an iron worker and member of the Brook Park City Council. He centered his campaign around targeting the kind of working-class voters he grew up around in a suburb near Cleveland’s airport. Much of his campaign platform centered around lowering the minimum age to qualify for Medicare, regulating data centers, and limiting funding for the war in Iran.
“I’m not in this to carry the flag for the Democratic Party,” he said in August. “I’m in this to flip a seat for working families.”
The tight House race received national attention over the controversy surrounding allegations against Miller.
Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, had accused Miller of domestic violence, including throwing hot water on her, holding a gun to her head, and an allegation involving their daughter’s fractured collarbone. Miller, who denied all of the allegations, sued Moreno for defamation. Ultimately, a county prosecutor’s office found that, in the case of their daughter’s injury, there was “insufficient admissible evidence” to bring a case to a grand jury.
Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham had also accused Miller of domestic abuse and misconduct during a romantic relationship during Trump’s first term and previously filed a temporary restraining order against Miller. Miller also denied those allegations. No criminal charges have been filed against Miller.
Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, Miller’s former father-in-law, said that Miller should “seek public help” over the summer and joined Ohio’s other Senator, Republican Jon Husted, in calling for Miller to exit the race.
Read More: Sen. Bernie Moreno Says Former Son-in-Law Max Miller Shouldn’t Serve in Congress
When asked over the summer whether his accusers were lying, Miller compared his situation to allegations that Trump faced during his 2016 presidential run.
“He stayed in and was resilient,” Miller said of Trump, in a CNN interview. “That is a quality that the American people cherish, and so for no second am I going to sit here and continue to be debased by false and baseless allegations.”
The House Ethics Committee announced in August it was actively reviewing allegations against Miller.
Miller, a former Marine, has served in the House since 2023. He previously worked as a White House aide during Trump’s first presidential term.
Ohio’s seventh district is located in the northeastern pocket of the state and stretches from the suburbs of Cleveland to Lake Erie and encompasses all of Medina, Wayne, and Ashland counties.
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