Affordability central to Ohio race that could decide House control

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – U.S. Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, is facing Democrat Brian Poindexter on November’s midterm ballot in a race neither party expected to be competitive.

The race for Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, a previously solid red seat, was moved to a “toss up” last month by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report after allegations of spousal and child abuse against Miller became public.

Democrats are looking to flip the newly competitive seat. Republicans have a slim five-seat advantage in the U.S. House of Representatives, leaving a handful of battleground races like Ohio’s 7th District to determine who controls the chamber during President Donald Trump’s final two years in the White House.

In a midterm season shaped by voters’ cost-of-living concerns, the race between Miller and Poindexter is testing both parties’ approaches to bringing costs down. Both candidates have made affordability a central part of their campaigns.

November’s election will be the first under Ohio’s new congressional map, which was approved last year. The Downballot calculated that Trump won by 11 points in 2024 against former Vice President Kamala Harris within the 7th District’s new boundaries.

After Miller's ex-wife accused him of spousal and child abuse earlier this year, several Republican lawmakers, including both of Ohio’s U.S. senators, called on him to resign.

"Anyone who commits domestic violence is not fit to serve in Congress," Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, wrote on social media on Aug. 6. "The House Ethics Committee should thoroughly investigate any credible allegations, and any member found to have committed domestic violence should resign from Congress immediately."

Miller’s ex-wife is the daughter of Ohio’s other senator, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. Moreno is also the grandfather of the child Miller and his ex-wife share.

Trump endorsed Miller’s reelection campaign in May and has not publicly called for his resignation since the allegations came to light. Miller was a White House aide in Trump’s first term and worked on the president’s 2020 reelection campaign.

Miller denies the allegations and has continued his campaign for reelection.

Miller’s affordability pitch to voters centers on creating jobs and lowering taxes. 

"We need to do all we can to make America the best place on the planet to create a job,” Miller’s campaign website says. "The number one thing that will lift our neighbors out of poverty and put them on a path to a better life is a good-paying job.”

He voted for his party’s tax and spending package, dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill, in 2025 and has touted it as the reason taxes did not rise after parts of the 2017 Trump tax cuts were set to expire.

Miller has also pointed to the law’s provisions eliminating taxes on overtime and tips, saying they will save workers nearly $1,500 a year.

In January 2025, Miller sponsored the Permanent Tax Cuts for American Families Act to lock in the higher standard deduction and increase it annually in line with inflation. He says more than 93% of his district’s taxpayers use the deduction.

Miller broke with the Trump administration on its tariff policies, telling U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at a hearing on Capitol Hill that tariffs were hurting companies in his district.

"I understand that maybe overall it's been a net positive for the country,” Miller said at an April 22 hearing. “My job isn't to represent the entire country. For that matter, it's not to represent the entire state of Ohio. It's to represent a district just comprised of about 800,000 people that it's my job to look out for. And right now, these policies are doing more harm than good."

He asked the administration to allow smaller companies that cannot pass the added costs on to consumers to apply for tariff exemptions.

Poindexter, an ironworker and city councilman, has used his background in the trades to appeal to working-class voters. He rebuts Miller’s argument for tax cuts, saying low wages are the real problem driving voters’ cost-of-living concerns.

"Right now, too many families are doing everything right and still falling behind," Poindexter’s campaign website says. "Wages haven't kept up, prices keep climbing, and too many policies in Washington are written to protect profits instead of people."

Poindexter has criticized Miller’s support for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, saying it has raised health insurance premiums.

"Our health care premiums are going up for no reason,” Poindexter said at a campaign event. “They're going up because Max Miller voted for the biggest cut to health care funding in American history.”

Poindexter rejects the argument that growth at the top reaches workers below.

"For years, we've been told that if corporations do well, everyone else will benefit," his website says. "But what we've seen instead is record profits at the top and tighter belts everywhere else."

If elected to Congress, Poindexter says he’ll work with Republicans where their goals align.

"I will stand with anybody to fight for the working families in my district," he said in an interview on MS NOW earlier this month. "And I will stand up to anybody, even my own party if I have to, to make sure that happens."

Miller holds a large fundraising advantage. Miller reported $2.14 million in total receipts and $1.38 million in cash on hand in his latest Federal Election Commission filings. Poindexter reported $603,000 raised and $312,000 in cash on hand.

Miller and Poindexter will face each other in the general election on Nov. 3. Polls in Ohio are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.