Republicans are increasingly viewing normally reliable Ohio as a "red hot mess" before the midterm elections, as pivotal candidates face either scandal or voter apathy.
According to a report from Axios, at the top of the list for Republicans fretting devastating election losses is Rep. Max Miller (R), who is mired in an ugly domestic abuse scandal that has led his father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), to call for him to step aside and seek psychiatric help.
As Axios noted, Miller is not the only problem facing Ohio Republicans.
Ohio has transformed from a perennial battleground into a Republican stronghold under Trump. Two years ago, Trump won the state by 11 points — the "largest margin for any winning presidential candidate in four decades," Axios is reporting.
Now Republicans are facing spending tens of millions of dollars in races they previously viewed as safe wins.
"Ohio is ground zero of the environment this cycle. Take a GOP voter depression, mix it with the war in Iran, and now sprinkle with some Max Miller abuse allegations, and you've got the recipe for a very dicey outcome in November," a GOP strategist lamented to Axios.
According to the report, Republican polling shows GOP Sen. Jon Husted in a dead heat against Democrat Sherrod Brown. Some Republicans attribute Husted's struggling position to "a lackluster campaign" and failure to distinguish himself since his appointment to replace Vice President JD Vance last year.
Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy faces similarly tight polling against Democrat Amy Acton.
According to the report, "Some Republicans say Ramaswamy, an Ivy League-educated former biotech investor, has struggled to win over the state's blue-collar voters. He's also faced some backlash from conservatives, particularly over his support for developing data centers for AI."
