Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* In Ohio’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, appointed Republican incumbent Sen. Jon Husted didn’t need another problem, but he has one anyway: Just a month after the senator hired Stephen Woytek as his political director, Husted fired him after learning that he had posted a photo of Nazi soldiers as his profile picture on Facebook.

For his part, Woytek said he rejects Nazism but participates in historical re-enactments to “educate our younger generations.” The Washington Post, which was the first to report on the story, noted that a Spotify account bearing Woytek’s name also featured songs celebrating a white minority-ruled African colony popular with white supremacists.

The Post’s article added, “The campaign did not answer questions about whether and how they vetted Woytek’s social media history before he was hired.”

This story is not to be confused with Republican Rep. Mike Collins, the GOP’s Senate nominee in Georgia, who used to employ a different staffer who shared images via social media earlier this summer of a swastika and one that depicts himself in Ku Klux Klan robes.

* In North Carolina’s highly scrutinized U.S. Senate race, former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley also didn’t need another headache, but The Associated Press reported that pastor Daimon L. King, a registered sex offender who was twice sentenced to prison for convictions involving children, was invited to deliver a prayer at a recent Whatley campaign event.

A spokesperson for the Republican candidate blamed the Craven County Republican Party, which organized the event, though it comes months after Whatley faced questions about having elevated a convicted sex offender to positions within the North Carolina Republican Party during his tenure as party chairman.

* In Texas, Bo French, the right-wing Republican candidate for state railroad commissioner, published racist social media posts targeting students of color celebrating at Saturday’s University of Texas football game. Republican Sen. John Cornyn condemned the message, writing online, “Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized. This is how great political parties self-destruct.” Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton, however, took the opportunity to attack Democratic state Rep. James Talarico instead, making no specific comments about French.

* In Kansas’ increasingly interesting U.S. Senate race, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall participated in a debate with his Democratic rival, the Rev. Adam Hamilton, and the incumbent senator was booed a lot more than he apparently expected to be.

* Speaking of Senate debates, there was an awkward moment in Alaska on Saturday when Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan appeared to struggle with a question about the fishing industry. As part of the event, he and former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola were each given paddles for rapid-fire questions, with the words “yes” and “no” on opposite sides.

“Do the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries adequately consider impacts on subsistence users, salmon migration, habitat, and Indigenous ways of life?” a moderator asked. Peltola, who has a background in commercial fishing, quickly used her paddle to answer, “No.” Sullivan paused, looked at Peltola’s answer, and then did the same thing.

The Bulwark called it “the 6-second debate clip that could haunt” the GOP incumbent.

The post Monday’s Campaign Round-Up, 9.14.26: GOP’s Husted fires political director over Nazi photo appeared first on MS NOW.

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