Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) on Friday confirmed he fired his campaign’s political director after the staffer was linked to Nazi content.
Stephen Woytek once used a photo of the Nazi military, SS soldiers, as his Facebook profile photo and recently added to a public playlist of songs celebrating Rhodesia, a country venerated by white supremacists and right-wing “Groypers” associated with Nick Fuentes, according to the Washington Post.
While it noted Woytek “denies negative intent,” Husted’s campaign said it decided to “part ways” with the political director after the outlet’s investigation. Husted is currently in a rough race for reelection against Democratic Senate nominee Sherrod Brown, who lost his Ohio seat in the upper chamber in 2024 to then-candidate Bernie Moreno.
“Steve serves our country honorably as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army and is a proud graduate of The Citadel. He studies military history and routinely reenacts historical battles. While he denies negative intent, his social media activity displays a complete lack of judgment and disregard for its impact on others,” a spokeswoman for Husted said. “Sen. Husted demands better of those who represent him. Upon learning about the social media posts today, Sen. Husted made the immediate decision to part ways.”
The Washington Post said Woytek follows a military reenactment group called LAH Living History Unit on Facebook that has members who dress up as the Leibstandarte, a Waffen-SS formation that began as Adolf Hitler’s bodyguards and later became an armored division. The group says it disavows “political and religious persecution” that happened during World War II. The group shared photos linked to a Flickr account that appear to show Woytek wearing an SS uniform in February 2018 and marching in an area that is adorned with Nazi flags, according to the outlet.
Woytek appears to have been a military history buff in general, dressing up as a Union soldier in the Civil War and as a U.S. soldier in World War II as part of his reenactment hobby.
“I want to be unequivocal: I reject the racist and antisemitic ideology the SS and Nazi Germany represented. I believe it is important to educate our younger generations, which is why I participate in historical reenactments,” Woytek said in a statement. He said he should have “exercised better judgment when posting about my activities online” and did not want to distract from Husted’s race.
“I am utterly heartbroken, but respectfully am parting ways with his campaign,” he wrote.
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Woytek’s ouster from Husted’s campaign comes as the incumbent senator is battling for his political career in one of the tightest races nationwide.
The latest polling shows his Democratic rival, Brown, with a slight lead ahead of November. Polymarket has Brown with a 4-point lead in betting odds as of Friday evening.