Ohio political anger boiled over online after records showed that Andrew Havas, a former county campaign chair for Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, contributed thousands of dollars to committees connected to Husted and Gov. Mike DeWine before resigning over a criminal case involving a 15-year-old.
Federal and state campaign finance records reviewed by TiffinOhio.net show that Havas gave $24,250.79 to Husted-linked committees and the DeWine ticket since 2018. The total included $1,291.32 donated to Husted’s Senate campaign in June, just weeks before Havas stepped down as the campaign’s Franklin County chair.
Havas resigned after NBC News questioned Husted’s campaign about his 2009 guilty plea in a case involving a 15-year-old. He was initially charged with sexual misconduct with a minor, but the charge was reduced to misdemeanor assault. Havas pleaded guilty and served 90 days in jail.
Husted’s campaign said it had not known about the case.
“Mr. Havas did not disclose his history to the campaign,” spokesperson Amy Natoce told NBC News. “Upon learning the facts, we immediately accepted his resignation as a campaign volunteer.”
The explanation did little to calm critics in Ohio’s Reddit community, where the story drew hundreds of votes and a wave of comments condemning Husted, MAGA politics and the Republican Party.
One commenter delivered the thread’s most popular verdict: “It’s always the ones that you most suspect.”
Another described the episode as “more MAGA skeevy creepy predator-supporting behavior all around,” while another wrote, “You just can’t make this up. I’m voting blue.”
Ohio Republicans Face a Furious Local Backlash
The reaction quickly expanded beyond Havas, with users portraying the controversy as part of a wider pattern involving Republican officials and allegations connected to minors.
“Always a Republican, never a drag queen or trans person,” one commenter wrote. Another added, “To MAGA, it’s just another day.”
Havas had been one of 112 volunteers appointed to represent Husted’s campaign across Ohio’s 88 counties. He also serves as vice chair of the Franklin County Republican Party executive committee and is registered as a state lobbying agent.
Records show Havas gave $4,066.12 to Husted’s Senate campaign between February and August 2025, including money routed through Team Husted, a joint fundraising committee bearing the senator’s name. He also donated to Husted’s former state committee and to DeWine-related committees.
No campaign finance violation has been alleged. Still, Ohio Democrats seized on the donor history. Party spokesperson Tony Wen accused Husted of continuing to associate with political allies who have faced troubling allegations or scrutiny involving minors.
Husted faces former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in the Nov. 3 special election. Judging by the local reaction, the controversy has handed Democrats another potent line of attack in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.
