WOOSTER, Ohio – Pamela Meshew is a Republican voter in the heart of the Midwest planning to back the ticket on Nov. 3. But there’s one race that makes her hesitant.
The 64-year-old retired insurance underwriter says she hasn't decided whether to vote for embattled Rep. Max Miller, a controversial Republican who represents a swath of northeast Ohio including her area, in light of allegations he physically abused his ex-wife and his 2-year-old daughter, which Miller denies.
Those allegations, which burst into public view over the summer, have upended the political dynamics in what had been a solidly Republican district. In just a few short months, a district that President Donald Trump carried by 11 points in 2024 and that Miller himself won by 15
points has transformed into a toss-up, according to multiple nonpartisan ratings.
It's an extraordinary shift in a year when Republicans are increasingly unpopular, and has prompted the Republican Party's campaign arms to come in and spend money in what in other years would have been a safe district. With Democrats already poised to pick up seats in the House of Representatives, losing this Republican seat would further tip the lower chamber in Democrats' favor.
But the decision ultimately rests with voters, not the political party or numerous Republican politicians who have called for Miller's resignation. And while some voters are undecided, several Republicans told USA TODAY they will back Miller because they think the allegations against him are unfounded or driven by politics.
Trump country Republicans, independents are split
Meshew lives in Wooster, a city of 27,000 in the heart of Trump country. Getting there means driving through quaint villages and past farmland with Republican political signs that sit next to grain silos.
"It does matter," Meshew said of the allegations against Miller. "However, I have not researched it enough yet to know to be sure of, when did it happen? Did it truly happen? Is it just an allegation that’s been made? The news is so slanted."
Bernie Schafrath, 82, of Wooster, was enjoying a day at the county fair when he said he’ll vote for “whoever’s the Republican.” He said he thinks the allegations of domestic violence against Miller are political smear.
“I believe in the miracle of freedom and the Democrats don’t,” he said.
Robert Hess, 91, a registered Republican from Strongsville, also told USA TODAY he doesn’t believe what he’s hearing about Miller. He describes what’s going on as “the way it is” in a competitive political season. “Max Miller has been in office and has been doing great.”
Political experts who spoke to USA TODAY said this is common. Voters are less likely to believe allegations against a politician of their own party, especially in today's polarized environment. A 2019 study found that politicians facing financial and sex scandals – neither of which applies to Miller – saw their vote share reduced nearly 8 points on average but increased fundraising by 60 percent.
But Cyril Kleem, a registered Republican who serves as the nonpartisan mayor of Berea, a city of 17,000 in the district, said he’s supporting Miller's Democratic opponent Brian Poindexter because he knows him. He also thinks Miller should have dropped out of the race to prioritize his daughter and run at a later date if he wanted the job back.
“To me, not everything is strict partisanship,” Kleem said. “I’m looking for what I call people of goodwill, people like Brian who’s a good listener, who will try his best to help advance some of the issues that are important to some of the people that I represent.”
For Sarah Douglas, a 41-year-old undecided Republican from Marshallville, domestic violence allegations don't automatically disqualify Miller from office. She’s voted for him in the past. Her top issue is the cost of living.
“Make things cheaper,” she said.
Cheryl Behrend, 79, of Wooster, is not on the fence. She calls herself a nonpartisan voter, even if she registered as a Republican a couple of years ago specifically so she could vote against a local candidate.
“Max Miller belongs in jail,” Behrend said.
'Will take a lot for him to lose'
Emily Moreno, Miller's ex-wife, told police this year that Miller threw boiling water on her, held a gun to her body, and grabbed and pushed her, according to a police report. Miller has sued her for defamation, and that case is ongoing.
After a doctor diagnosed their toddler with a broken collarbone underneath a hand-shaped bruise, police and child services investigated Miller for potential child abuse, but child services wrote in documents that the abuse was "unsubstantiated." Miller has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has not been criminally charged in any of these situations.
"This is a tired story," Miller's campaign spokesperson, Abigail Angelos, told USA TODAY. "He has successfully delivered for the district for the last three years. His constituents know who he is and know that if they have any concerns, he has provided all his personal documentation to them to review themselves."
Among those leading the calls for Miller to drop out is his ex-wife's father, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who wrote in August: “If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Representatives.”
Sen. Jon Husted, another Republican in a tight race in Ohio, and Republican senators from Alabama, Kansas, Montana, and West Virginia have also called for Miller to drop out.
Katherine McCabe, a political scientist at Rutgers University in New Jersey, said the scandal has affected Miller. A big part of that, she said, is that so many members of his own political party have come out against him.
But Miller continues to campaign with an endorsement from Trump and funding from the Republican Party: Its House campaign arm has spent $612,000 since September on a television ad that centers on Poindexter's endorsement from progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and says he wants to raise taxes.
Miller has survived political scandal before. With backing from Trump, he edged out a Republican incumbent and then won in 2022, despite articles showing his college-age arrest for driving while under the influence and a police citation for punching through a window of an apartment building.
During that same election, ex-girlfriend Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary, published a book that described an abusive ex-boyfriend who matched Miller’s description. He sued for defamation. They settled. Now, she’s suing him for statements he made in May.
“It’s going to take a lot for him to lose,” said Brian Hamel, a professor at the University of North Texas who co-authored the study on politicians who win their campaigns despite scandals. “For a lot of these voters, the concept of voting for a Democrat, particularly in this district, is, like, not a thing for them.”
Miller’s controversy has elevated a relatively unknown Democrat
Democrats in the congressional district readily say they will vote against Miller. But they rarely mention Poindexter, a Brook Park city councilman with a long career as an ironworker who comfortably drops the F-bomb when discussing Elon Musk’s wealth.
Some of them don’t even know who’s running.
“I’m voting for the Democrat against Miller,” said Douglas Reans, 79, a Democrat from Wooster. Reans said his wife attended one of Miller’s town halls, and he did not think Miller took her questions seriously. He also believes the allegations are true.
Poindexter, 47, says he wants to penalize companies for moving jobs overseas, protect the right to unionize, build an economy for workers instead of corporations, and stop tying health insurance to employment.
He told USA TODAY his campaign is picking up, and he’s been emphasizing his relationship with his own daughters.
“We’ve gotten support from all over the political spectrum – from Democrats, independents and Republicans because we’re running on a message that everyone who works for a living can subscribe to,” Poindexter told USA TODAY.
Poindexter said his campaign’s internal polling average was increasing before Miller’s problems started making national news. Now, he said, he’s meeting Republican voters who are drawing a line in the sand.
Poindexter is running an advertisement showing his own three daughters vouching for his skills as a father. In another, the uniformed sheriff from Akron, a Democrat, cites the allegations against Miller and says he shouldn’t be in Congress.
When Miller’s campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter threatening to sue if Poindexter’s campaign ran the ad with the sheriff, Poindexter posted a video showing him ripping up the letter and asking for donations.
The Democratic Party’s House campaign arm, meanwhile, marked Miller’s congressional district for its program that pours money into seats the party thinks it can flip.
Miller’s stomping grounds
Miller lives in the northern area of his congressional district in Bay Village, a western suburb of Cleveland. It's a cozy, affluent city of 16,000 on the shores of Lake Erie where residents say there’s a pretty even partisan split.
Samantha Petitto, 43, of Bay Village, is a Democrat. She said she wouldn’t support Miller even if he were a Democrat because she thinks he’s a bad person. She’s also quick to point out that he grew up in another town.
Janice DeAngelis, a registered Republican who also lives in Bay Village, said she would probably vote for Miller. She said the domestic violence allegations should be a personal thing, and they seemed politically motivated when she heard about them.
“I care about what they do as a politician and what they do as a leader in our area as opposed to personality traits,” DeAngelis said. “A lot of them are (expletives), but if they can get the job done, I don’t care.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: In Ohio, a solidly GOP district is upended by domestic violence allegations
