Senate campaign political director Stephen Woytek has parted ways with U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s reelection campaign after social media activity showing Nazi imagery was reported, according to multiple news outlets.
The Washington Post reported that Woytek “once used a photo of SS soldiers as his Facebook profile photo” and “recently added to a public playlist of songs celebrating Rhodesia,” tying the social posts to imagery and themes often venerated by white supremacists.
Local outlets and national political reporters said the Husted campaign “parted ways” with the staffer after the reporting surfaced. NBC4i’s summary said the campaign has “parted ways with a top staffer after questions surfaced about social media activity,” and The Hill reported Husted’s political director was removed following discovery of Nazi imagery on his accounts.
Coverage also noted additional items in Woytek’s public footprint. The Washington Post wrote that he had created a playlist honoring White colonists in Rhodesia, a defunct White-minority-ruled state “often venerated by white supremacists,” and that those items were identified in publicly available social media activity.
The campaign’s departure followed reporting rather than an internal disclosure: several outlets said journalists flagged the posts to the campaign. The Hill and local papers described the move as coming after news organizations contacted the campaign about the profile images and playlists.
Why it matters: national outlets noted the timing is sensitive for Husted’s reelection effort and that staff departures over online posts have become a recurring campaign risk in recent cycles. The Washington Post placed Woytek’s social-media history in that wider context by connecting the images and playlist to symbols used by extremist movements.
Readers seeking related coverage on online controversies and political staff departures can see reporting on similar backlash to public posts and remarks by political figures.
Sources
- The Washington Post — reported Woytek “once used a photo of SS soldiers as his Facebook profile photo” and that he “recently added to a public playlist of songs celebrating Rhodesia.”
- The Hill — reported that Husted’s political director was removed after discovery of Nazi imagery on his social accounts.
- NBC4i — reported the campaign “parted ways with a top staffer after questions surfaced about social media activity.”
- 10TV — reported the campaign said Woytek denied negative intent while acknowledging the social posts showed a “complete lack of judgment.”
