Brian Poindexter defeats scandal-plagued Max Miller

Ohio House Democratic nominee Brian Poindexter has mounted a successful challenge against Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) in the state’s 7th Congressional District after Miller’s campaign was consumed by domestic and substance abuse allegations.The Associated Press hadn’t yet called the election, but Miller conceded just before midnight. The vote tally was 54.1% to 45.9% as of 12:17 a.m.“I am disappointed at this evening’s election results. I have fought earnestly to continue to represent the interests of my home and community in the Ohio 7th District,” Miller wrote. “We have achieved great things in the last four years and I am disheartened that I cannot continue the good fight. 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!” Ohio’s 7th District, located outside of Cleveland, was not a pickup opportunity for Democrats at the start of the 2026 election cycle, with Miller winning his second term in Congress in 2024 by 15 percentage points and his first in 2022 by 11 points.But after allegations from his ex-wife and her father, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), including that he threatened her with a gun and hurt her with hot water, were highly publicized before Ohio’s final filing deadline in August, the race changed from a likely Republican contest to a toss-up, according to the Cook Political Report.At the same time, Poindexter, a union ironworker and former Brook Park city councilman, grappled with allegations regarding his own previous misconduct, including a 1998 police report that accused him of ingesting a “rock of suspected crack cocaine” during a traffic stop and a 2013 arrest for slapping a stranger at a Cleveland Indians game.“I just tell people what, you know, it’s not Brian Poindexter accusing Max Miller of these atrocious acts,” Poindexter told the Washington Examiner during a sit-down interview before the election. “It’s the people that know him best who accuse him, and I just want to make sure people know the facts about who their representative is.”Other than the competing allegations, the race included discussion and debate over concerns regarding the economy and President Donald Trump’s foreign policy as it pertains to Ukraine.Ohio’s 7th District is home to a dynamic Ukrainian expatriate community, particularly near Parma, providing Miller, a former Trump campaign and administration aide, with reasons to break with the president.2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS LIVE UPDATES: LATEST NEWS, RESULTS, AND ANALYSIS“The Administration should not waive sanctions passed by Congress to punish Russia for its brutal war of choice in Ukraine,” Miller wrote on X last month.The congressman said of U.S. special envoy for peace missions Steve Witkoff calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “humanitarian”: “What a ridiculous statement. Maybe we should ask the hundreds of dead civilians in Bucha what they think of Putin’s humanitarian instincts?”