Max Miller

Try as he might, Jim Renacci can’t un-ring a bell, and Today in Ohio podcast hosts flatly rejected his claim Thursday that Axios was wrong when it reported his interest in running for Max Miller’s congressional seat if the scandal-plagues incumbent drops out.

Just read Renacci’s quotes to see where the truth is, despite what he claims now.

Axios reported earlier this week that Renacci, the former Ohio congressman and gubernatorial candidate, was interested in jumping into the race for Ohio’s 7th Congressional District if Miller exits. The report was based on an interview Renacci gave to Axios. According to the story, Renacci wasn’t playing coy — he talked about receiving calls from Republican donors, having a campaign team ready to go, and acknowledged the seat had once been his.

Then, overnight, the story changed. Renacci reached out to Miller to say the Axios story wasn’t accurate. He spoke with cleveland.com. He insisted he’s not the one trying to push Miller out.

“When we went back and talked to him after that, he told us that if Max Miller would leave and ask him to step in and help, he would consider it,” podcast host Courtney Astolfi said.

“Yeah, I’m throwing the flag on this one, Courtney,” said host Chris Quinn. “I think Renacci is talking out of both sides of his mouth.”

Quinn said Renacci’s quotes in the Axios story revealed his excitedment. He talked about Republican donors reaching out. He talked about a full campaign team standing by. He talked about how the district once belonged to him. That’s not the language of someone reluctantly being dragged into a conversation — that’s the language of someone who sees an opportunity and likes it.

But with Miller still the candidate, Quinn said, state Republicans likely were angry about Renacci’s Axios interview. What he said damaged Miller’s prospects. Quinn suggested the party called Renacci and told him to shut up.

So when cleveland.com called him, instead of admitting his error, he tried to blame the messenger. His problem is his own quotes, Quinn said.

And here’s what makes it worse: Leila Atassi noted that when Renacci talked to cleveland.com, he essentially repeated what he told Axios.

“He said Axios got the story wrong, but then he repeated to us exactly what he told Axios,” Atassi said.

“Look, he talked to Axios,” Quinn said. “He ought to just be a good person and say, you know, I probably shot my mouth off with them more than I should have. Of course, I’m not going to get into this unless Max drops out. But instead, he tries to question the quality of their journalism, and I take issue with that. They called him in good faith. They reported what he said in good faith. And it’s sleazy beyond words to now say they got it wrong. It’s his own words. Just read them.”

Astolfi said Renacci does seem the ideal replacement if Miller drops out, which Miller is adamant about not doing. The district Renacci represented before the Ohio Legislature gerrymandered the maps overlaps heavily with Miller’s current one — covering Medina, Ashland, northern Wayne County, and parts of Cuyahoga County. If the GOP suddenly needs a name-recognition replacement in a hurry, Renacci makes geographic and political sense.

The window is closing, though. Republicans can’t put Renacci’s name on the ballot unless Miller drops out in the next few days.

Listen to the conversation here.

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