Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy defended embattled Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), who's accused of domestic abuse against his ex-wife and daughter.
In a leaked audio published on Wednesday, Ramaswamy can be heard telling a supposed supporter that he has to defend Miller for the sake of the GOP.
"Thank you for supporting Max, Max Miller," an unidentified man can be heard telling Ramaswamy in a recording published by Headquarters News in a post on X.
"Absolutely," Ramaswamy responded. "Up and down the ticket."
"Are you going to go out and campaign with him?" the unidentified voice asked.
"My view is this is the most important election for preserving the Republican control of the House, the Senate, and also protecting the Republican control of the state," Ramaswamy said. "If we compromise that, we're done. So that's the way I look at it."
Members of the GOP have called on Miller to resign, including Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), the father of Miller's ex-wife. Miller has been accused of pouring hot water on his ex-wife, holding a gun to her head, and holding a blue stuffed bunny hostage; their 2-year-old daughter also suffered a broken collarbone in his care. He has denied all of it.
Miller has bucked the calls to drop out of his bid for re-election and stayed in the race past the deadline to pick a new candidate. GOP leaders like President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) have steered away from explicit calls for him to drop out, and Miller has compared himself to Trump while defending his choice to stay in the race.
Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate and former Trump DOGE pick, is the GOP nominee for governor in Ohio, which will also host key November midterm races in the House and Senate.
"They deserve what's coming to them in November," wrote Democratic political strategist Mike Nellis in a post reacting to Ramaswamy's leaked audio.
