Republican Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio says Rep. Max Miller should leave House and end fall campaign

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio called on Rep. Max Miller Thursday to resign his House seat and abandon his fall reelection bid.

Miller is facing a congressional ethics investigation related to domestic abuse allegations leveled against him by his ex-wife, and anxiety over his electability this fall is growing within his party. But the second-term, Cleveland-area congressman has continued to insist that he will hold the course.

In a post on X, Husted said he knows Miller, his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno, and their daughter, and “I do not see how a campaign for Congress benefits any of them.”

“I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress to focus on what is in the best interest of his daughter,” he wrote. “Years from now, I believe he will look back and know it was the right choice for her.”

Another Republican senator, Tim Sheehy of Montana, also urged Miller on Thursday to “step aside and seek help.”

“Staying in this race makes it far more likely we lose this seat and hand Democrats a majority to impeach President Trump,” he said on X.

Miller faces Democrat Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker and local councilman, for Ohio’s 7th Congressional District.

A message seeking comment was left with Miller's spokesperson. The congressman has vehemently denied all allegations of domestic abuse leveled against him by his former spouse.

Husted’s and Sheehy's comments added to the increasing pressure on Miller from both Democrats and fellow Republicans. Sen. Bernie Moreno, the state's senior senator, reacted to Miller's livestream on X Sunday by saying that Miller is unfit to serve — though he never specifically urged Miller to resign or end his November campaign.

Under Ohio law, Miller would need to withdraw by Saturday to allow enough time for the replacement process to play out before the 4 p.m. Monday deadline.

Donovan O'Neil, state director of Americans for Prosperity-Ohio, an influential conservative organization, also labeled Miller “unfit to serve” in an X post Thursday.

O'Neil said Republicans just a month ago called out Graham Platner, a now-former Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, over a sexual assault claim he denied and they “should be just as willing to call out Max Miller and exorcise our own demons from the GOP.”

President Donald Trump, for whom Miller was a senior aide during the first term, has cautioned Miller that he may face an uphill battle this fall — but he continued to stop short on Thursday of weighing in on whether Miller should resign or withdraw.

The president was asked about the embattled congressman while taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office at a Thursday signing event.

“Well, I’m not going to get involved in that,” Trump said. He echoed his earlier comments that it was a “very sad situation.”