Max Miller Rally Canceled Over Threats as Deadline to Quit Ohio Race Passes

A rally meant to boost Rep. Max Miller's reelection campaign never happened. The Strongsville, Ohio Republican Party canceled the Monday event, called the "Pass the SAVE America Act Rally," after receiving what chair Shannon Burns described as threats serious enough to make the gathering unsafe.

"After consultation with law enforcement and the venue, the number and nature of the threats received have made the event untenable," Burns wrote in a Friday email, according to Breitbart. "We cannot responsibly expose our guests, attendees, volunteers, venue staff, or law enforcement officers to an unacceptable safety risk."

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) had been scheduled to appear alongside Miller at The Barn at Mapleside Farms in Brunswick. The cancellation landed just as Ohio Republicans' window to replace Miller on the November ballot closed.

A Deadline Miller Refused to Meet

Ohio election law gave Miller until Wednesday, August 5, at 4 p.m. to formally withdraw, according to CBS News, which would have let county GOP chairs pick a replacement nominee. Miller didn't take it. He told CNN flatly, "I'm not going anywhere," and repeated in a Newsmax interview that there was "no chance" he'd remove himself from the race, even if President Trump personally asked him to step aside.

He backed up the words with money, loaning his own campaign another $1 million in two installments, according to Breitbart.

The Allegations

Miller's ex-wife, Emily Moreno, has accused him in court filings and police reports of throwing hot water at her and pointing a gun at her head. She has also alleged their 2-year-old daughter suffered a broken collarbone while in his care. The Los Angeles Times reported that Miller and Moreno have given conflicting accounts of how the injury happened, and that the case was first detailed publicly by Mother Jones.

Miller has denied every allegation. "It's incredibly upsetting," he said in a livestream, according to the Los Angeles Times, as he walked through the accusations one by one. He has pointed out that no court or agency has substantiated the claims against him.

A spokesperson for Emily Moreno, Stefan Mychajliw, called Miller's livestream "shameful," telling the Los Angeles Times: "No loving parent would have ever used their daughter as a PR pawn to save their own political career. Miller can lie and spin on X, but he cannot do so under oath in a court of law."

These are allegations in a custody dispute and police reports, not findings from a court or a completed investigation. Miller is right that no judge or agency has ruled against him. But the House Ethics Committee has now opened its own inquiry. Miller himself asked for it, saying on X he wanted to "clear my name" and had "nothing to hide."

His Own Party Turned on Him

What makes this different from a typical ethics story is who's calling for Miller to go. Sen. Bernie Moreno, his former father-in-law, said Miller "should not serve in the House of Representatives" and "needs serious psychological help," adding he is "a danger to my daughter" and that he "hold[s his] breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter," according to the Los Angeles Times.

Sen. Jon Husted also urged Miller to leave the House and drop out, according to Breitbart. Two sitting Republican senators from Miller's own state are publicly calling for his exit.

Even President Trump, who endorsed Miller and employed him as a senior White House adviser during his first term, told him directly he wasn't sure Miller could "pull this one out," according to Miller's own account to CNN. CBS News reported that Trump called Miller on Monday to raise concerns about the race, and that some White House officials privately hoped he'd exit immediately. Publicly, Trump has been more measured, telling reporters in the Oval Office it's "a very sad thing" and that he'd "let the families figure that out."

The Political Math

Miller won his Cleveland-area district with just over 51% of the vote in 2024, according to the Los Angeles Times. That's not much cushion. His Democratic opponent, union ironworker Brian Poindexter, has raised $603,000 against Miller's $2.1 million, per PBS, but has been leading Miller by 14 points in at least one recent poll cited by Breitbart. Poindexter has called Miller's situation "moral bankruptcy."

Two sources told Axios that Republicans privately expect Miller to drop out by the end of the week. As of now, he hasn't. The withdrawal deadline has passed, meaning Ohio Republicans can no longer swap in a different nominee for the November ballot even if Miller changes his mind later. The House Ethics Committee's investigation into the domestic abuse and drug-use allegations remains open, with no timeline yet for when it will conclude.