Ohio Democrat Brian Poindexter has defeated Republican Rep. Max Miller, NBC News projects, months after Miller’s ex-wife accused him of domestic abuse — allegations he denied but which became the centerpiece of the campaign.
asserted
which → defeat → campaign
Poindexter, an ironworker and City Council member in the working-class Cleveland suburb of Brook Park, flipped a district that Donald Trump would have won by 11 points in 2024.
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Trump → flip → 2024
Poindexter and his allies amplified the abuse allegations as Democrats poured millions into a race they weren’t expecting to compete in just months before.
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they → amplify → race
Miller, 37, spent Trump’s first term as a White House aide and campaign hand.
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Miller → spend → aide
He originally sought to challenge then-Rep. Anthony Gonzalez in a 2022 GOP primary with Trump’s blessing after Gonzalez backed Trump’s impeachment the previous year.
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Gonzalez → seek → impeachment
Gonzalez ended up retiring instead of running for re-election, and Miller won a different seat after redistricting jumbled the state’s congressional map.
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redistricting → end → map
During that campaign, former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham accused Miller of physical abuse while they were dating, allegations Miller denied.
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Miller → accuse → allegations
In Congress, Miller remained a steadfast ally of Trump, but he did break from him over some issues, like his tariffs, and he was also steadfast in his support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
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he → remain → Russia
Miller made headlines for taking on progressive Democrats over their support for Palestinians amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, and he backed the expulsion of Republican Rep. George Santos from Congress, accusing Santos of stealing money from him and his mother.
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he → make → mother
Miller had been expected to win re-election easily until the circumstances surrounding his divorce became public.
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circumstances → expect → divorce
His ex-wife, Emily Moreno, has accused him of holding a gun to her head, throwing hot water on her and throwing her against a wall, allegations that have been aired both in courtrooms and in public.
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that → accuse → public
Miller has vehemently denied the claims.
uncertain
Miller → deny → claims
Miller released a series of documents and audio recordings of conversations between him and Moreno.
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Miller → release → him
He also defended himself in a lengthy social media livestream.
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He → defend → livestream
“Ask yourself: If I had assaulted her, would she have offered to cook me dinner six days later?” he said in the social media video released this summer.
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he → ask → video
“Would she have invited me to spend an afternoon at the playground with her and our daughter?
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she → invite → her
Would she have written that we were in a friendlier place?”
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we → write → place
Moreno’s spokesperson Stefan Mychajliw called the video “unhinged and humiliating,” calling Miller’s denial of the allegations a lie and saying Moreno is “confident that justice will prevail in court.”
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justice → call → court
Miller’s ex-wife is the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who spoke out over the summer, saying that he had hoped to not publicly weigh in “out of concern for the safety for my family” but that he felt that “Miller’s increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior has made that impossible.”
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that → speak → family
The senator went on to say, “If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them,” and he said Miller “should not serve in the House of Representatives.”
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Miller → go → Representatives
Despite calls from the senator and some other Republicans to resign before the deadline passed to replace him on the ballot, Miller was undeterred.
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Miller → resign → ballot
Meanwhile, Poindexter suddenly found himself at the center of one of the most competitive House races in the country.
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Poindexter → find → country
He brought together backers including progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who endorsed him ahead of his primary victory over longtime Ohio Democrat Ed FitzGerald.
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who → bring → FitzGerald
After the primary, Poindexter won the backing of other Democrats, like Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, as the party sought to unite behind his campaign.
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party → win → campaign
After having voted Republican in his 20s, Poindexter began identifying more with Democrats, supporting President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election and finding inspiration in Sanders’ 2016 presidential bid.
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Poindexter → vote → bid
On top of the attacks on Miller, Poindexter has leaned into a populist message highlighting his union background and promising to advocate for workers in Congress.
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Poindexter → lean → Congress
While he has said he disagrees with Trump’s blanket tariffs, Poindexter backed “targeted tariffs to protect jobs” and argued for ways to rebuild America’s manufacturing sector.
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Poindexter → say → sector
He also told the Akron Beacon Journal he supports “working towards universal health care over time” and working to protect union rights.
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he → tell → rights
As Poindexter and his allies hammered Miller, Republicans unspooled their own lines of attack against Poindexter, highlighting his past arrests.
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Republicans → hammer → arrests
As a young adult, Poindexter faced a handful of criminal charges.
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Poindexter → face → charges
He told NBC News this summer that his 1999 felonious assault charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, and he was charged in 2002 and 2003 with misdemeanor disorderly conduct related to fights at Cleveland Browns games.
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he → tell → games
He added in his NBC News interview that he turned over a new leaf after he became a father at 22.
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he → add → 22
“I was young and dumb, but I turned my life around.
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I → turn → life
But Max Miller, even after at least three women have accused Miller of violence and brutality, all Miller does is attack and lie,” Poindexter said in a TV ad.
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Poindexter → accuse → ad
The Aporia
