Senate Aide Ousted Over Nazi Imagery

One of Ohio Sen. Jon Husted's top campaign aides is out after his online footprint surfaced with Nazi imagery and apparent support for Rhodesia. The Washington Post reports that 25-year-old political director Stephen Woytek once used a photo of SS soldiers as his Facebook profile picture and maintained a public Spotify playlist featuring songs praising Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), the former white-minority-ruled state embraced by white supremacists. The caption that accompanied the playlist, which has since been made private, read: "Homesick for a place that no longer exists."

A spokesperson for Husted's campaign tells the Hill that Woytek had denied "negative intent," but the campaign still opted to "part ways" with him, citing his "complete lack of judgment" on social media. Woytek, a Citadel graduate and Ohio National Guard member, said he participates in historical reenactments and rejects Nazi ideology. He admitted he should've shown better judgment online.

Woytek also called himself "utterly heartbroken" and said he didn't want to distract from Husted's race against Democrat Sherrod Brown. TiffinOhio.net notes that this is the second recent departure from Husted's campaign: Andrew Havas, Husted's volunteer chair for Franklin County, stepped down in July after questions arose regarding a guilty plea he'd made in 2009 in a criminal case involving a 15-year-old.