Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) fired his campaign’s political director, Stephen Woytek, on Friday, September 11, 2026. The dismissal occurred after the campaign learned of social media posts linked to Woytek that included imagery of Nazi officers and a playlist of songs celebrating Rhodesia, a defunct nation previously ruled by a white minority. Woytek had joined the campaign in August 2026.
A spokesperson for the Husted campaign stated that Woytek denied "negative intent" but described the social media activity as displaying a "complete lack of judgement." Woytek, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army and graduate of The Citadel, is a student of military history who participates in historical battle reenactments. The campaign said the decision to part ways was immediate upon learning of the posts.
The Washington Post first reported the posts, which included 2018 photos of a 16-year-old Woytek in Nazi officer attire as part of a reenactment group. A Spotify account in his name also recently featured a playlist of Rhodesian songs, a nation the Post reported is venerated by white supremacists. Woytek told the Post he rejects "racist and antisemitic ideology" and that he uses reenactments to educate younger generations.
This event reflects an ongoing trend of increased scrutiny regarding the digital histories of political staffers. Husted is the second Republican Senate candidate in recent months to dismiss a staffer for similar reasons, following Rep. Mike Collins’s (R-GA) replacement of his chief of staff in July 2026. The scale of this issue has extended to multiple offices, as reported by Slate and the Washington Post, including instances where staffers were linked to white supremacist group chats or posted Ku Klux Klan and swastika imagery. For the broader political industry, these dismissals establish a precedent of immediate termination for senior aides whose past or present social media content includes symbols associated with hate groups.
What happens next depends on how quickly the Husted campaign appoints a successor and whether the U.S. Army, where Woytek serves as a lieutenant, takes administrative action. No specific court dates or official hearings were reported. The immediate focus remains on the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections, where Husted faces Sherrod Brown. The campaign has not yet named a replacement political director.