Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted Vivek Ramaswamy’s failed Ohio governor bid, saying Ohio “beat Vivek … like a drum” and arguing the state GOP “shouldn’t have pushed him” in a blue‑collar state. DeSantis made the remarks on The Sage Steele Show, according to a report carried by The Western Journal and attributed to the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF).
DeSantis: Vivek “not the type” for blue‑collar Ohio
“I don’t know why they would have pushed him to be the candidate there … Ohio is a working‑class state, very blue‑collar,” DeSantis said. “Vivek, he’s a tech guy, did this Alzheimer’s drug, and he wants to bring in people, foreign workers on visas. That is not the type of person that is going to sell.”
DeSantis also criticized what he cast as Ramaswamy’s disconnect with Ohio’s working class and his support for H‑1B visas, per the DCNF report.
What the results and records show
The report states Democrat Amy Acton defeated Ramaswamy 52 percent to 44 percent in the Ohio governor’s race, identifying her as governor‑elect.
Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences in 2014, a biopharmaceutical and technology company the article says now has a market cap of almost $29 billion.
H‑1B, jobs, and voter mood
In a Dec. 26, 2024, post on X, Ramaswamy wrote that many companies are forced to turn to foreign talent because “American culture has venerated mediocrity” for decades. He declined to answer questions about H‑1B visas in a September interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation, according to the DCNF.
Ohio lost roughly 300,000 manufacturing jobs between 1999 and 2025, Policy Matters Ohio reports. An early‑September Bowling Green State University poll found more than six in ten Ohioans believe the U.S. is on the wrong track, with the economy and inflation ranked as top concerns.
Ad backlash reported during race
The article says Ramaswamy faced backlash after his campaign ran an ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother, whom the piece says lost custody of Acton and her brother after she allegedly allowed her then‑husband to abuse Acton when she was a child.
DeSantis’ broader midterm take
DeSantis argued Republicans lost the midterms because they didn’t address affordability and government accountability. “This midterm was a rebuke of the president and Congress … but, a lot of our voters stayed home because they were frustrated with the lack of productivity from Republicans in the House and Senate,” he said on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, per the report. The piece adds that, before results, DeSantis warned Republicans could lose due to high gas prices and the “Iran war.”
The report further states that Democrats regained majorities in the U.S. House and Senate after voters soured over former President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy, the Iran war, and corruption.
