Republican Senator to ‘Part Ways’ With Top Staffer Over Nazi Profile Photo - Newsweek

Ohio Senator Jon Husted "parted ways" with a campaign staffer after it was reported that he had once used an image of Nazi soldiers as his Facebook profile picture.

The now-deleted photo on Stephen B. Woytek's profile showed SS soldiers holding captured Soviet banners, The Washington Post reported Friday. The outlet also said he had recently shared a public music playlist celebrating the defunct white-minority-ruled nation of Rhodesia.

Concern has grown around the apparent growth within the Republican Party of those who hold white supremacist views, particularly younger men.

Woytek worked on Husted's reelection campaign, but a spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek that the Republican senator decided to "part ways" with the 25-year-old after learning about the posts.

"Steve serves our country honorably as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army and is a proud graduate of The Citadel," a spokesperson said. "He studies military history and routinely reenacts historical battles. While he denies negative intent, his social media activity displays a complete lack of judgement and disregard for its impact on others. Sen. Husted demands better of those who represent him."

Newsweek reached out to Woytek via his Facebook page for comment Friday afternoon.

In a statement to the Post, the part-time Platoon Leader with the Army National Guard said he was "utterly heartbroken" at leaving Husted's campaign.

According to the Post, Woytek, 25, used a photograph of soldiers from the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler division as his Facebook profile picture. The image was not publicly visible as of Friday afternoon.

The outlet also reported that Woytek had engaged with social media accounts connected to military reenactment groups portraying the same SS unit and had participated in historical reenactments while dressed in period uniforms.

More recently, reporting linked a Spotify account bearing Woytek's name and photo to a playlist titled "Tales From Rhodesia." The playlist was described as being for someone "homesick for a place that no longer exists" and included songs celebrating Rhodesia, the former state that existed until Zimbabwe's independence in 1980.

Civil rights groups and historians have noted that Rhodesian symbolism has been embraced by some white supremacist movements. The imagery has appeared in several high-profile extremist cases in recent years.

In a statement to the Post, Woytek said he rejects Nazi ideology and participates in reenactments for educational purposes.

"I want to be unequivocal: I reject the racist and antisemitic ideology the SS and Nazi Germany represented," he said. "I believe it is important to educate our younger generations."

According to his LinkedIn profile, Woytek started as political director for Jon Husted for Senate in August.

His profile describes experience in Ohio politics, public policy and military service. Woytek has served as a legislative aide in the Ohio House of Representatives, including work with state Representative Haraz Ghanbari, and has been involved in multiple political campaigns.

Newsweek understands he also spent time with the offices of Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio. Both offices were reached for comment Friday.

Outside politics, Woytek serves as a First Lieutenant in the Ohio Army National Guard. His LinkedIn profile lists a series of leadership roles, including positions involving operational planning and future operations coordination. He is also a graduate of The Citadel, the South Carolina military college.

The episode is the latest incident to raise questions about extremist imagery and associations among individuals connected to Republican campaigns.

The controversy also follows other recent staffing issues in Republican Senate and congressional campaigns. Reporting by The Hill noted that another GOP campaign staffer left a congressional office earlier this year following reports about participation in chats involving prominent white nationalist figures.

But the concerns don't solely lie on the right side of the aisle; Graham Platner, former Democratic nominee in the 2026 US Senate election in Maine, ended his campaign in July after a string of major controversies, including a skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembling the Nazi-era Totenkopf, a symbol explicitly associated with Adolf Hitler’s SS paramilitary forces.

Husted is Ohio's junior U.S. senator and a longtime figure in state Republican politics.

Before joining the Senate, he served as Ohio lieutenant governor and previously held roles including Ohio secretary of state and speaker of the Ohio House. He was appointed to the Senate in January 2025 and is now seeking to retain the seat in a competitive race against Democrat Sherrod Brown.

The Ohio contest is viewed as one of the most consequential Senate races of the 2026 cycle, with control of the chamber likely to be influenced by a handful of battleground states, including Ohio.

For Husted, the dismissal of a top campaign aide is an unwelcome distraction as the campaign enters a critical phase. The central question now may be not only Woytek's online activity, but whether the campaign's vetting procedures adequately identified material that was publicly available before his hiring.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Gray R. Thomas