Politics

Max Miller’s PAC Spent Thousands On GOP Candidates Up For Reelection. Will They Keep Those Donations?

Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America / Wikimedia Commons

Several Republicans facing competitive races were silent on whether they would return donations given to them by Republican Ohio Rep. Max Miller’s political action committee (PAC).

Miller’s PAC, the Dependable Conservative Leadership PAC, donated over $70,000 to 16 Republican incumbents facing competitive races in November, Federal Election Commission (FEC) records showed. Some Republicans planned to return or donate the money, while others did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation about whether they planned to keep the money amid Miller’s domestic violence allegations.

Republican Minnesota Rep. Brad Finstad’s campaign confirmed to the DCNF that its $5,000 donation had been returned. A campaign spokesperson for Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s campaign said the money would be donated to charity.

“Yes, the campaign will be donating the money to charity,” the Fitzpatrick campaign spokesperson said.

The PAC donated $5,000 to Republican New York Rep. Mike Lawler’s campaign on March 17, according to FEC records. A campaign spokesperson for Lawler told the DCNF that Lawler’s opponent, Democratic New York congressional candidate Cait Conley, refused to return fundraising funds made alongside former Democratic New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned over his involvement in prostitution.

The campaign told Politico that Lawler’s campaign would keep the money.

“Cait Conley raked in untold thousands of dollars from a fundraiser hosted by disgraced former Governor Eliot Spitzer, who was chased out of office for involvement with an interstate prostitution ring that preyed on young women – and refused to return a penny,” Lawler campaign spokesperson Chris Russell told the DCNF. “Their hypocrisy is staggering. Conley and Hakeem Jeffries should sit this one out.”

Conley took $13,500 from the Spitzer family, according to Lawler War Room. Spitzer resigned in March 2008 after a federal wiretap caught him arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel, The New York Times reported at the time.

National Republican Congressional Committee national press secretary Mike Marinella said Democrats were “shameless hypocrites” who ignored their own “scandal-plagued” candidates.

“Democrats are shameless hypocrites who conveniently look the other way when their vulnerable members are bankrolled by scandal-plagued Democrats like Eric Swalwell, Ruben Gallego, Jimmy Gomez, and Bobby Pulido. Nobody should take these slimeballs seriously when their supposed principles disappear the second they become politically inconvenient,” Marinella told the DCNF.

Conley listed former Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell’s PAC as one of her endorsements on her website, despite him resigning from Congress over sexual misconduct allegations, according to the Republican National Committee (RNC). The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office opened an investigation into Swalwell after a former staffer told CNN she woke up to find him in bed with her after being intoxicated the night before.

Other members of Congress who Miller’s PAC donated to included Republican Reps. Zach Nunn of Iowa, Johnny Garrett of Tennessee, Laurel Lee of Florida, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota, Andy Barr of Kentucky, Matt Van Epps of Tennessee, Gabe Evans of Colorado, Steve Demetriou of Ohio, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Young Kim of California.

The PAC donated to Republican Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, who called on Miller to drop out out of his race and resign from Congress. The campaign received two $5,000 donations on March 18, 2025, and Sept. 2, 2025, according to FEC records.

“One thing they both seem to agree on is that Ruthie’s best interests should come first,” Husted said in an Aug. 6 statement. “Those interests will not be served by litigating these matters in public, but by addressing them privately. Given everything they are facing, 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.”

Husted’s campaign did not respond to the DCNF about whether they would keep or return the donations.

Husted will face a competitive race against former Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who served in the Senate for three terms until his defeat in 2024 to Miller’s ex-father-in-law, Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno. Polls showed Husted and Brown neck-and-neck months before the general election.

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted to finish out Vice President J.D. Vance’s term in Jan. 2025.

The campaigns for Nunn, Barrett, Fischbach, Barr, Van Epps, Republican New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean, California Rep. Young Kim, Evans, Demetriou and Republican Pennsylvania Rob Bresnahan did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Miller has been embroiled in controversy since his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, accused him of physically abusing herself and their two-year-old daughter. Miller has denied all of the allegations and maintained he would stay in the race.

Moreno accused Miller of burning her with hot water from a pan of eggs in June 2024 and continuing to spray her with water from a sink hose while she lay in a fetal position. She alleged that he held a gun to her head in March 2025 and, in another instance, fractured their daughter’s collarbone.

Moreno’s father, Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, accused Miller of refusing to give his daughter her stuffed blue bunny, which he said she could not sleep without. Miller posted screenshots to X, claiming that a man who was not on an approved list offered to pick up the bunny.

The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Miller at his own behest, stating he had “absolutely nothing to hide.”

The deadline passed for the Ohio Republican Party to replace Miller given that he did not drop out by the deadlines. If Miller dropped out before Aug. 5, the party could have held a special primary to find a replacement. Miller would have had to drop out by Saturday for the party to hold a committee hearing and pick a replacement by the Monday deadline at 4:00 p.m. EDT.

If Miller dropped out by the Aug. 25 deadline, Democratic Ohio congressional candidate Brian Poindexter would run uncontested.

President Donald Trump’s political team urged the party not to pressure Miller to leave the race since the congressman did not intend to step down.