U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno said Sunday that his former son-in-law, U.S. Rep. Max Miller, is a danger to his daughter and should not serve in Congress.
Both men are listed as endorsers on Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign website.
As of Sunday afternoon, Miller’s name appeared under “Ohio Congressional Delegation” on the official endorsements page for Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial campaign, alongside U.S. Reps. Jim Jordan, Dave Taylor, Michael Rulli and Warren Davidson. Moreno is listed a few sections above, under “National Leaders Who Love Ohio.” So is Gov. Mike DeWine, who called the allegations against Miller “troubling” four days earlier.
Miller has denied every allegation of abuse raised by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, and has never been criminally charged. He said Sunday in a livestream on X that he is staying in his re-election race.
Miller is not the first
Since April, Ramaswamy’s campaign has faced questions at least four times about backing from people accused of or convicted in cases involving misconduct. The campaign has responded differently each time.
In April, TiffinOhio.net reported that the campaign was promoting the endorsement of state Rep. Rodney Creech, who was accused by a minor female relative of climbing into bed with her while erect and wearing only his underwear, according to Bureau of Criminal Investigation documents. Creech denied wrongdoing and was not charged.
Two days later, on April 11, Creech’s name disappeared from the page, along with that of state Rep. Gary Click. Web Archive snapshots captured both removals. The campaign made no announcement. Click’s name reappeared roughly two hours after TiffinOhio.net documented the change. Creech’s did not, and he remains absent today.
In July, the scrutiny moved from endorsements to money.
The campaign accepted $10,000 from Cincinnati private equity founder Mark Hauser, who served two months in federal prison for paying $40,000 to rig his daughter’s ACT score in the Operation Varsity Blues admissions scandal.
Days later, the campaign was reported to have accepted more than $10,102 from Andrew Havas, a Statehouse lobbyist who served 90 days in jail after a 2009 guilty plea. Havas was originally charged with sexual misconduct with a minor in a case involving a 15-year-old when he was 22; the charge was reduced to misdemeanor assault.
Havas had resigned as U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s Franklin County campaign chair over that same case, after NBC News asked Husted’s campaign about it. Ramaswamy’s campaign did not respond to TiffinOhio.net’s questions about whether it knew of the history or planned to return the money. No campaign-finance violation has been alleged in connection with either donation.
Miller is the fourth. His name is still on the page.
What DeWine actually said
DeWine, who endorsed Ramaswamy and appears on the same page, was asked about Miller at the Ohio State Fair on Wednesday, July 29.
“The accusations are certainly very serious and certainly troubling,” the governor said.
He did not withdraw support from Miller. Asked whether he had endorsed him, DeWine said he had never made an endorsement in that race. In the same exchange he praised the congressman, saying their professional relationship “has been very good” and that Miller has “done a good job.”
Pressed on whether the accusations troubled him, DeWine said they did but that the decision belongs to the district. “People of the district are having to weigh the facts,” he said. “They are the ultimate people who decide; They’re the ones who decide who they want to represent.”
Asked whether he would want Miller representing him if he lived in the district, DeWine did not answer. “I’m done,” he said semi-jokingly.
Ramaswamy has not addressed it
TiffinOhio.net located no public statement from Ramaswamy about the allegations against Miller.
Miller endorsed Ramaswamy in a Facebook post, writing that he was proud to do so. Both men were in President Donald Trump’s orbit before running statewide in Ohio, and Trump has endorsed each of them.
Ramaswamy has been asked before how he handles allegations of sexual misconduct in his political orbit. In April, after his allies circulated Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s disclosure that she had sought therapy for childhood sexual abuse, Ramaswamy posted a video saying she had no vision for the state “other than to complain about what someone else did to her.” Acton has spoken publicly for years about being molested between the ages of 9 and 12 by her mother’s husband.
Acton campaign manager Phil Stein called the remark “shameful” and said Ramaswamy should apologize. Ramaswamy has also declined for months to call for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
A toss-up race
The Cook Political Report moved the Ohio governor’s race from Lean Republican to Toss Up in July, citing polling showing Acton narrowly ahead of or tied with Ramaswamy despite his spending advantage. Sabato’s Crystal Ball still rates the race Lean Republican.
Ohioans vote Tuesday, Nov. 3. Republicans have until Wednesday, Aug. 5, to replace a candidate on the November ballot — a deadline that applies to Miller’s congressional race, not the governor’s.
An endorsements page is among the cheapest things a campaign can change. Ramaswamy’s changed his in April, within two days of a news report, and left one name off permanently. Whether Miller’s is still there Monday morning is a decision the campaign will make, or decline to make, in public view.
