A Republican senator has been called out for using a tragic family accident to score political points.
Sen. Jon Husted, 59, was blasted for prominently highlighting an April car crash that killed a couple and their baby in Ohio—all for a campaign ad targeting his Democratic opponent, Sherrod Brown.
On April 11, Lynnea Soposki, 36; her husband Luke, 37; and their son Logan, 1, died on I-71 in Delaware County after their pickup truck collided with a semi truck driven by Modou Ngom, 50, an immigrant who was naturalized as a citizen in 2015.
A 30-second ad paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and authorized by Husted’s campaign seized on the tragedy to attack Brown over his past comments on immigration.
“I don’t hear a lot about immigration from voters except people in the far right,” Brown said in one clip.
The ad concluded, “Because of him, Ohioans paid the price.”
The Soposki family’s surviving relatives protested the advertisement in a statement.
The bereaved relatives said they were “not asked”—and “would not have agreed”—to include footage of the crash site and a photograph of the deceased family in an advertisement. The family photo, they said, was taken by a friend who holds the copyright and did not consent to its use.
“This is not a statement about immigration policy, and we are not making one for any party or candidate. It is a statement about our family,” the family said. “Lynnea and Luke were not political symbols”
“Our grief is not raw material for a campaign, and their images are not public property to repurpose for anyone’s advantage,” they added. “We are asking that the advertisement be taken down, and that our family’s images and this tragedy not be used in political messaging by any campaign, going forward. We would ask the same of any candidate, of any party, who did this. We are asking it now of Senator Husted.”
A source familiar with the ad told the Daily Beast that the spot featuring the Soposki family has run its full cycle and has since been replaced.
When reached for comment, NRSC regional press secretary Nick Puglia doubled down on attacks on Brown.
“For 32 years, radical leftist Sherrod Brown backed open border policies that cost Ohioans their lives, without ever apologizing,” he said. “Our ad campaigns will continue to hold Sherrod Brown accountable.”
