The withdrawal cutoff passed Saturday, Aug. 8 with Max Miller (Rep-R Ohio) — accused of domestic abuse and unopposed in the May 5 primary — refusing to quit; Democrat Brian Poindexter (D-OH) is the only other name on the ballot.
Miller will remain in the race after the Saturday, Aug. 8 withdrawal cutoff passed without a withdrawal. He denies the domestic abuse claims and has resisted calls from other Republicans to end his campaign for a third term. Miller faced no opponent in the May 5 Republican primary; Democrat Brian Poindexter is the other named candidate for Ohio's 7th Congressional District in November.
What the missed deadline actually forecloses
- Had Miller withdrawn in time, Ohio law would have handed the replacement pick to the district's Republican central committee — party officials, not voters.
- A write-in is the only remaining Republican alternative, and write-ins essentially never win House seats: the last to do it was Ron Packard, a California Republican, in 1982.
- The House cannot refuse to seat a winner over allegations. Expulsion takes a two-thirds vote and has happened six times in the chamber's history, most recently George Santos (Rep-R New York), 311-114, in December 2023.
Currently showing Two escape hatches, both nearly impossible
Two escape hatches, both nearly impossible
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