民主党人在俄亥俄州取得了一场意外胜利，工会钢铁工人布莱恩·波因德克斯特击败了寻求连任的共和党众议员马克斯·米勒，赢得了涵盖克利夫兰南部郊区的第七国会选区，决策台总部（DDHQ）预测。截至周二晚11点16分，在67%的选票统计完毕时，波因德克斯特以近8个百分点的优势领先米勒，据DDHQ统计。
Democrats scored an upset victory in Ohio as Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker, defeated two-term Republican Rep. Max Miller in the 7th District encompassing the southern suburbs of Cleveland, Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) projects. Poindexter led Miller by nearly 8 percentage points with 67 percent of the vote reported as of 11:16 p.m. Tuesday, according to DDHQ.
这场竞选最初并不被认为会胶着。该选区传统上倾向保守，特朗普总统在2024年大选中曾以11个百分点的优势在此获胜。但米勒在竞选后期陷入了一场非常公开的家庭纷争，其前妻提出了惊人的指控，称米勒曾对她和他们年幼的女儿实施暴力虐待。米勒的前岳父、参议员伯尼·莫雷诺（共和党-俄亥俄州）表示，米勒缺乏在国会任职的品格，反而应该“寻求专业帮助”。
The race was not initially expected to be close. The district has been traditionally conservative, and President Trump won there by 11 percentage points in 2024. But Miller was embroiled in a very public family feud that erupted late in the campaign, featuring explosive allegations by his ex-wife that Miller had violently abused her and their young daughter. Miller’s former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), said Miller lacks the character to serve in Congress and instead should “seek professional help.”
“他对我女儿构成威胁，每一分钟他拥有我孙女的监护权，我都提心吊胆，”莫雷诺在8月表示。米勒否认了这些指控，指责前妻患有精神疾病，编造虐待指控仅仅是为了争取女儿的监护权。这场家庭风波笼罩了米勒进入选举日的竞选活动，也提高了民主党人夺取这个红色席位的希望。
“He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter,” Moreno said in August. Miller has denied the allegations, accusing his ex-wife of being mentally ill and inventing the abuse allegations merely to win custody of their daughter. The family turmoil engulfed Miller’s campaign heading into Election Day and heightened the Democrats’ hopes that they could pick up a red seat.
与全国其他民主党人一样，波因德克斯特似乎也受益于特朗普第二任期伴随的经济动荡和高昂生活成本。米勒曾是特朗普的助手，波因德克斯特强调了这一关联，反复论证该国的通胀趋势是全球关税、伊朗战争及其他特定特朗普政策的直接结果。这位共和党众议员试图通过指出共和党在特朗普领导下的立法成果来化解这一攻势，最引人注目的是总统去年签署的全面减税法案，其中包括取消小费税和加班费税。
Like other Democrats around the country, Poindexter also appeared to benefit from the economic volatility and high cost of living that’s accompanied Trump’s second term. Miller is a former Trump aide, and Poindexter highlighted the connection, hammering home his case that the country’s inflationary trends are the direct result of global tariffs, the Iran war and other specific Trump policies. The House Republican sought to defuse that message by pointing to the Republicans’ legislative successes under Trump, most notably the sweeping tax cuts signed by the president last year, which included the elimination of taxes on tips and overtime.
然而，这并不足以让他在第七选区躁动不安的选民面前保住席位，这些选民在周二发出了明确的信号。
It wasn’t enough to save him, however, from restive voters in the 7th District, who sent a clear message Tuesday.