Morning Digest: Thought Max Miller would become a GOP pariah? Nope.

Republicans in competitive races are still backing the congressman—and keeping his contributions

Rep. Max Miller of Ohio (left). (Credit: Max Miller Facebook)

Leading Off

OH-07

Republicans in competitive races are not separating themselves from Rep. Max Miller despite abuse allegations leveled against the Ohio congressman by his ex-wife—and if anything, they’re doing just the opposite.

“Look, my view is this is the most important election for preserving Republican control of the House, the Senate, and also protecting the Republican control of the state,” Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP nominee for governor, told a gathering last weekend in audio first shared by HuffPost.

Ramaswamy, who was responding to an attendee asking whether he would “go out and campaign with” Miller, concluded, “If we compromise that, we’re done.”

A spokesperson for Amy Acton, Ramaswamy’s Democratic opponent, was quick to connect him to the scandal-ridden congressman.

“Vivek Ramaswamy stands side-by-side with creeps and abusers, from known Epstein associates to Max Miller,” her team told HuffPost. Polls show Acton and Ramaswamy neck-and-neck, despite Ohio’s shift to the right over the past decade.

Ramaswamy, though, is far from the only Republican who has avoided treating Miller, who refused to remove his name from the ballot before the deadline to do so passed earlier this month, as a pariah.

Politico reported earlier this month that of the 16 Republican members of Congress who received donations from Miller’s leadership PAC this year, only Rep. Brad Finstad of Minnesota said he wouldn’t keep the money. Nearly all the rest avoided commenting, but a spokesperson for New York Rep. Mike Lawler told the site he didn’t plan to return the $10,000 contribution.

Lawler, one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the chamber, defended himself in a subsequent interview with CNN’s Dana Bash.

“Max has been accused, Max has also made accusations against his ex-wife,” Lawler said of his colleague. “It is tragic, and obviously I don’t condone any level of abuse, but ultimately there has been nothing that has been corroborated here.”

Noting that Lawler reported having close to $5 million on hand at the end of June, Bash pressed him as to why he would not part with such a small fraction of his war chest. Lawler responded, “Dana, do you have information that proves the allegation? I mean, are you aware of something the rest of us are not?”

But Lawler offered a very different response earlier this summer when a similar scandal beset a high-profile Democratic candidate.

“Watching the media and Democrats fall all over themselves defending Graham Platner is truly next level,” Lawler tweeted in June, after the New York Times reported that three women recounted “volatile and ‘toxic’ relationships” with the Maine Senate candidate.

“After all the sanctimonious lectures about everything, it turns out, they don’t actually care about Nazi affiliations or sexual abuse and harassment.”

Platner’s bid collapsed the following month after Jenny Racicot, who had spoken to the Times about her relationship with Platner, told Politico he’d raped her in 2021. Democrats immediately called for the nominee to drop out, with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee bluntly warning that it would “not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot.” Platner ended his campaign two days later.

Republican leaders, though, reacted very differently this summer as story after story detailed Emily Moreno’s abuse allegations against Miller, her now-former husband.

Donald Trump, whom Miller worked for during his first administration, pointedly refused to tell the congressman to drop out. Politico subsequently reported that Trump’s team urged Ohio Republicans to avoid calling for Miller to end his quest for a third term.

Some Republicans still tried to pressure Miller to quit the race in time for the GOP to nominate a replacement candidate, albeit much less overtly than Democrats had sought to boot Platner.

Days before the deadline to drop out, the Republican firm ​​co/efficient released a poll showing ironworker Brian Poindexter, the Democratic nominee, beating Miller by a huge 47-33 spread, though it’s not clear who if anyone sponsored the survey.

“The data no longer supports a viable path to victory for Max Miller,” the pollster said of his prospects in Ohio’s 7th District, a suburban Cleveland constituency Trump would have carried 55-44 in 2024. The memo, which highlighted the incumbent’s toxic 20-57 favorable rating, concluded, “Whatever Republican path exists in Ohio’s 7th does not run through him.”

But Miller saw things differently. He not only chose to remain in the race but also said he would loan his campaign $1 million.

Democrats have responded to Miller’s refusal to step aside by making the 7th District a top priority. The House Majority PAC announced on Aug. 14 that it was reserving an additional $6 million in ad time to target Miller, on top of the $1 million it booked this spring. Prominent Republican outside groups have not disclosed any planned spending to help Miller.

Poindexter, for his part, has largely avoided addressing the allegations surrounding his opponent. When the topic has come up, the Ohio Capital Journal recently explained, the Democrat “usually acknowledges the severity of the situation before pivoting to focus on Miller’s policies.”

Instead, he’s highlighted his labor background while downplaying his party affiliation.

“I’m not in this to carry the flag for the Democratic Party,” he told the Capital Journal. “I’m in this to flip a seat for working families.”

The Downballot Podcast

The Downballot’s ‘Senate flip’ fantasy draft

Runoffs were the big story this week, with close contests in South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Georgia. On this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast, co-host David Beard and guest host Kari Chisholm discuss how two Trump-endorsed candidates—Darline Graham in South Carolina and Mike Mazzei in Oklahoma—narrowly won their races, along with their prospects in the general election. They also preview next week’s primaries in Massachusetts, including Rep. Seth Moulton’s faltering challenge to Sen. Ed Markey.

Then in our deep dive, we channel the spirit of fantasy football season for a “Senate flip” fantasy draft. David and Kari take turns “drafting” each of this year’s top Senate races, based on how likely every seat is to change hands. Of course, as with any draft, there’s plenty of analysis of every prospect!

Redistricting Roundup

MD Redistricting, MD Ballot

Maryland Judge Robert Thompson ruled Wednesday against a proposed constitutional amendment that would make it easier for lawmakers to eliminate the state’s last Republican congressional district in time for the 2028 elections, but he paused his order to give the legislature time to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Democrats, who authored the proposal, quickly confirmed they would ask the state’s highest court, where a majority of the members were appointed by then-Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, to allow the amendment to appear on the fall ballot.

But Thompson, who is also a Hogan appointee, ruled that they acted too late to comply with a state law requiring the secretary of state to certify summaries for statewide ballot measures by July 1.

The state attorney general, who is defending the amendment in court, has argued that this deadline doesn’t apply because the legislature, rather than election officials, crafted the summary.

Senate

AK-Sen

Retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan, who is running as a Republican, will advance to the general election against GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, the Associated Press projected Tuesday evening.

The AP, which made its call a week after Alaska’s top-four primary, has not yet projected which minor candidate will take the fourth and final spot in the fall contest, which will be conducted using ranked-choice voting. Democrat David Leslie and Republican Gerald Heikes are locked in a tight race for this berth with about 1% of the vote each.

Governors

AK-Gov

Bernadette Wilson, a longtime Republican operative and former radio host, will compete in the general election for Alaska’s open governorship, the Associated Press projected on Tuesday.

Wilson is set to join a pair of Democrats, former state Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and former state Sen. Tom Begich, in November. A trio of Republicans—former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, former Attorney General Treg Taylor, and former state Sen. Click Bishop—are locked in a close race for the fourth and final spot.

However, the general election may not necessarily feature two Democrats and two Republicans. Before the primary, Kreiss-Tomkins and Begich discussed the possibility of one of them dropping out so their party could consolidate behind a single contender for the general election.

If a winner declines to keep running, the fifth-place vote-getter would take their spot in the fall. If two contenders were to exit, the sixth-place finisher would also move forward.

Alaska voters won’t need to wait much longer to know who their four options will be. State election officials say they plan to finish their tabulations on Friday, and anyone who qualifies for the general election has until Monday to remove their name from the ballot.

GA-Gov

Despite Donald Trump’s behind-the-scenes machinations, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones still refuses to support billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson more than two months after Jackson’s upset victory in the Republican primary runoff for Georgia’s open governorship.

NOTUS Ben T.N. Mause writes that Trump offered to make Jones “ambassador to one of Europe’s largest countries,” but only if Jones were to endorse Jackson. However, Mause adds that unresolved legal matters between the two candidates, who filed defamation lawsuits against one another during the race, remain a stumbling block, with Jones wanting a $25 million settlement.

“The president didn’t offer me anything in exchange for an endorsement,” Jones told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in response. But while Jones didn’t rule out eventually backing Jackson, he noted, “Let’s not forget they filed a defamation lawsuit against me.”

Jones’ new comments come more than a month after he refused to say whether he’d even cast a ballot for his victorious rival in the general election, when he’ll go up against Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta.

“We’ll see,” Jones told the AJC in July. “Obviously, I’m interested in supporting and keeping Georgia Republican-run and keeping it red. And I think November is going to be a challenge.”

House

NH-01

Sen. Maggie Hassan on Wednesday endorsed former Portsmouth City Councilor Stefany Shaheen ahead of the competitive Democratic primary for New Hampshire’s open 1st District on Sept. 8.

Hassan serves alongside the candidate’s mother, retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, but she highlighted her connection with the younger Shaheen in a statement.

“Stefany Shaheen and I first got to know each other as moms of children with tough health challenges,” she said. “Stefany’s fight for her daughter gave her the strength and experience to fight for all families.”

Poll Pile

• IA-Sen: Suffolk University:

  • Ashley Hinson (R): 45, Josh Turek (D): 41.

• MA-Sen (D): University of New Hampshire:

  • Ed Markey (inc): 63, Seth Moulton: 28.

  • June: 41-35 Markey.

• MA-Sen: UNH:

  • Markey (D-inc): 49, John Deaton (R): 30, Joe Tache (Party of Socialism and Liberation): 7. (June: 50-34 Markey)

  • Moulton (D): 38, Deaton (R): 25, Tache (PSL): 16. (June: 50-30 Moulton)

• NE-Sen: Impact Research for Dan Osborn:

  • Osborn (I): 47, Pete Ricketts (R-inc): 47.

  • Feb.: 48-47 Ricketts.

• NH-Sen (D): UNH:

  • Chris Pappas: 47, Karishma Manzur: 34.

  • June: 53-29 Pappas.

• NH-Sen (R): UNH:

  • John Sununu: 60. Scott Brown: 20.

  • June: 59-20 Sununu.

• NH-Sen: UNH:

  • Sununu (R): 45, Pappas (D): 43. (June: 47-44 Pappas)

  • Pappas (D): 45, Brown (R): 40. (June: 52-38 Pappas)

• RI-Sen (D): UNH:

  • Jack Reed (inc): 54, Connor Burbridge: 18.

  • June: 63-25 Reed.

• RI-Sen: UNH:

  • Reed (D-inc): 51, Ray McKay (R): 31.

  • June: 52-35 Reed.

• SC-Sen: Impact Research for Annie Andrews:

  • Andrews (D): 41, Darline Graham (R-inc): 41, Kasie Whitener (L): 5.

  • The poll was conducted Aug. 18-24. Graham won the Republican primary runoff on Aug. 25.

• IA-Gov: Suffolk:

  • Rob Sand (D): 48, Zach Lahn (R): 44.

• WI-Gov: Marquette University Law School:

  • David Crowley (D): 49, Tom Tiffany (R): 44.

• NH-01 (D): UNH:

  • Maura Sullivan: 24, Stefany Shaheen: 19, Carleigh Beriont: 11, Heath Howard: 10, all others 4% or less, undecided: 29.

  • June: Shaheen: 33, Howard: 10, Sullivan: 8, Beriont: 3.

  • The poll was in the field Aug. 20-24. Howard dropped out on the evening of Aug. 24 and endorsed Beriont.

• NH-01 (R): UNH:

  • Hollie Noveletsky: 28, Anthony DiLorenzo: 25, Brian Cole: 7, all others 1% or less, undecided: 38.

  • June: Noveletsky: 15, DiLorenzo: 10, Cole: 4.

• NH-02 (D): UNH:

  • Maggie Goodlander (inc): 59, Paige Beauchemin: 19.

  • June: 66-12 Goodlander.

• NH-02 (R): UNH:

  • Lily Tang Williams: 58, all others 2% or less.

  • June: 56-7 Williams.

• TX-15: Texas Southern University:

  • Bobby Pulido (D): 50, Monica De La Cruz (R-inc): 45.

• TX-28: TSU:

  • Henry Cuellar (D-inc): 45, Tano Tijerina (R): 34, Marlon Duran (G): 6.

• TX-34: TSU:

  • Vicente Gonzalez (D-inc): 45, Eric Flores (R): 42, Eddie Espinoza (G): 3, Chris Royal (L): 2.