Voters in Ohio’s 7th Congressional district react to calls for Rep. Max Miller to drop his bid for reelection. He ran uncontested in the May 5 GOP primary. The Democratic nominee is Brian Poindexter.
Transcript
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
In Ohio, a troubled candidate says he’s forging ahead with his reelection campaign. According to court documents, Representative Max Miller’s ex-wife accused him of attacking her with boiling water and breaking their daughter’s collarbone. Miller strongly denies the allegations.
Now the congressman faces calls to end his campaign and resign from Congress, including from both of Ohio’s senators, Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno. Moreno is Miller’s former father-in-law. Ideastream Public Media’s Gabriel Kramer went to Miller’s district to find out what voters think of the controversy.
GABRIEL KRAMER, BYLINE: The Medina County Fair is taking place in the heart of Ohio’s 7th Congressional District with carnival rides…
(SOUNDBITE OF CARNIVAL RIDES RUNNING)
KRAMER: …Cows and sheep…
(SOUNDBITE OF SHEEP BLEATING)
KRAMER: …And plenty of fried pickles, cheese and Oreos.
(SOUNDBITE OF FRYING FOOD)
KRAMER: Congressman Max Miller has been favored to win his reelection here in part because of this historically conservative county. Republican voter Braeden Huth from Medina says Miller should end his campaign.
BRAEDEN HUTH: I support Max Miller, but I believe he should drop out and listen to what Husted says. And Bernie’s a smart man. If Bernie says it’s true, then it’s probably true.
KRAMER: Huth does not think Miller can win.
HUTH: Due to the allegations, I don’t think he’ll win the race. The publicity’s bad.
KRAMER: Miller is under pressure to drop out after accusations of domestic violence resurfaced recently. He denies the allegations. But voter Huth suggests a Republican replacement candidate would be better. The recently redrawn district also includes parts of neighboring Cuyahoga County, though not Cleveland, its largest city, but mostly its predominantly white suburbs.
(SOUNDBITE OF TENNIS BALLS BOUNCING)
KRAMER: One of those suburbs is Strongsville, where a park is crowded with pickleball and tennis players as children play in a nearby splash pad. Democratic voter Chris King is walking his dog.
CHRIS KING: It’s ridiculous that people could still support somebody who beats his wife, threatens people. He even threatens his father-in-law, who’s a sitting senator.
KRAMER: Fellow Democrat Denice Cipiti says…
DENICE CIPITI: I hope he doesn’t drop out.
KRAMER: But for strategic reasons.
CIPITI: Because I think he’s going to lose for all his personal stuff. Yeah. He’s a jerk. He’s a womanizer. I don’t think he has good qualities.
KRAMER: This small city has its own Republican organization called the Strongsville GOP that canceled a rally for Miller that it had scheduled for Monday. Strongsville GOP Chairman Shannon Burns says in a statement, quote, “in the United States of America, threats and intimidation have succeeded in shutting down a peaceful political gathering focused on election integrity.”
The Cook Political Report labels this congressional race between Miller and Democrat Brian Poindexter as likely Republican. Local political analyst Tom Sutton says he does not expect Miller to drop out of the race.
TOM SUTTON: He has requested a probe of the Ethics Committee into the situation that he’s in. I think he is banking on the possibility that the Ethics Committee will come out with something that is less than a censure.
KRAMER: You think what’s happened here with Max Miller has made it possible for the Democrats to win this district.
SUTTON: I think it has. These are voters that – they’re not MAGA voters necessarily. And so they’re conservative Republicans. It’s not that they’re not going to vote, but they may not vote in this race. It’s also not that they’re going to vote for Brian Poindexter, the Democrat. They’re simply not going to vote, and there’s going to be that gap, I think, that’s going to emerge that Poindexter might wind up winning the seat.
KRAMER: Back at the Medina County Fair, volunteers for the county’s Republican organization were instructed to provide the following statement to press that approached their booth. Quote, “as with any accusation, there is a presumption of innocence until guilt is proven. We respectfully ask you to allow the system to work and all the processes play out before passing judgment,” end quote.
Miller has until Monday to drop out of the race while giving the Republican Party a chance to replace him on the November ballot.
For NPR News, I’m Gabriel Kramer in Medina, Ohio.
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