Ohio senator Jon Husted fires campaign aide over Nazi SS profile photo

Ohio Senator Jon Husted dismissed his campaign's political director, Stephen Woytek, on September 11, 2026, after reports surfaced detailing Woytek's use of Nazi SS imagery on Facebook and his curation of a Spotify playlist celebrating the white-minority-ruled state of Rhodesia. Woytek, an Ohio Army National Guard lieutenant, defended his actions as historical reenactment and educational, unequivocally rejecting Nazi ideology. The incident highlights ongoing scrutiny over campaign vetting procedures and extremist ties within political staff.

Woytek firing over Nazi imagery

• ▪Stephen Woytek had previously used a Facebook profile photo depicting Nazi SS soldiers from the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler division holding captured Soviet banners.
• ▪A spokesperson for Senator Jon Husted stated that while Stephen Woytek denied negative intent, his social media activity displayed a complete lack of judgment and disregard for its impact.
• ▪Ohio Senator Jon Husted fired his campaign's political director, Stephen Woytek, on September 11, 2026, after social media posts linked the staffer to Nazi imagery and white supremacist symbols.
• ▪Stephen Woytek issued a statement rejecting the racist and antisemitic ideology of the SS and Nazi Germany, stating his participation in historical reenactments was for educational purposes.

SS reenactment group participation

• ▪Stephen Woytek followed several suppliers of SS uniforms on his Facebook page and engaged with social media accounts connected to military reenactment groups portraying the SS unit.
• ▪Stephen Woytek participated in historical reenactments with the LAH Living History Unit, a group portraying the 1st SS Panzer division that began as Adolf Hitler's bodyguards.
• ▪A 2018 photo shared on a Flickr account by the LAH Living History Unit showed a 16-year-old Stephen Woytek wearing an SS uniform and marching near Nazi flags.

Rhodesia playlist controversy

• ▪Stephen Woytek created a public Spotify playlist titled "Tales From Rhodesia" that celebrated the defunct, white-minority-ruled African nation of Rhodesia.
• ▪The "Tales From Rhodesia" Spotify playlist created by Stephen Woytek included a song that used a racial slur to refer to African troops.

Campaign vetting failures

• ▪Senator Jon Husted's campaign did not respond to questions from The Washington Post regarding whether Stephen Woytek's social media activity had been vetted prior to his August 2026 hiring.
• ▪Stephen Woytek's LinkedIn profile indicates he had extensive experience in Ohio politics, including serving as a legislative aide in the Ohio House of Representatives and working with multiple political campaigns.

Republican staffer extremism pattern

• ▪In Georgia, Republican Congressman Mike Collins replaced his top aide, Kip Talley, in the summer of 2026 after reports revealed Talley's participation in a group chat with white supremacists.
• ▪Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner ended his campaign in July 2026 following controversies over a skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembling the Nazi-era Totenkopf symbol.
• ▪Stephen Woytek's dismissal follows other recent controversies involving Republican campaign staff, including the departure of a congressional staffer who participated in chats with white nationalist figures.