Florida Governor Ron DeSantis unloaded on Vivek Ramaswamy after his defeat in Ohio’s governor’s race, arguing that Republicans chose a candidate poorly suited to the state’s working-class voters. His criticism centered on Ramaswamy’s technology and biotechnology background and his support for bringing foreign workers into American jobs. DeSantis also questioned the Republicans who promoted his candidacy. Democrat Amy Acton defeated Ramaswamy by roughly eight percentage points.
The remarks came during an appearance on “The Sage Steele Show” following the November 3rd midterm elections. Steele interviewed the Florida governor as Republicans confronted losses beyond Ohio, including the loss of their congressional majorities. The conversation covered candidate recruitment, economic frustrations and the consequences for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term. DeSantis and Ramaswamy had previously competed against each other in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
Turning to Ohio, DeSantis pointed to his own family’s connection to Youngstown and described the state’s electorate as heavily blue collar. He argued that Ramaswamy’s professional background and immigration positions created difficulties reaching those voters. The governor also placed responsibility on the candidate himself for the scale of the defeat, while questioning the party’s decision to put him forward for the governor’s office.
As Fox News reported, DeSantis said: “He wants to bring in foreign workers on visas. That is not the type of person that’s going to sell.” The Daily Caller News Foundation reported that Ramaswamy had previously defended employers’ recruitment of foreign talent by criticizing American cultural attitudes toward achievement. In a December 2024 post, Ramaswamy wrote that “American culture has venerated mediocrity.” He later declined to answer the outlet’s questions about H-1B visas during a September interview.
DeSantis also challenged the thinking behind Ramaswamy’s nomination. The Washington Examiner quoted him saying: “Now, part of that was Vivek, quite frankly. I don’t know why they would have pushed him to be the candidate there.” Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences in 2014 and built his career in biotechnology before entering presidential politics. The Daily Caller News Foundation reported that Acton won approximately 52% of the vote to his 44%.
The campaign’s closing stretch also brought controversy over an advertisement featuring Acton’s estranged mother. According to the Daily Caller News Foundation, the advertisement drew backlash over the family’s history and allegations that Acton suffered abuse as a child. DeSantis referred to Ramaswamy’s campaign mistakes during the interview, while arguing that Republicans should have selected someone whose priorities better matched Ohio’s electorate. He said the candidate’s problems extended beyond the final campaign controversy.
Watch DeSantis discuss Ramaswamy’s defeat here:
"*" indicates required fields
The broader interview also addressed what Republicans could accomplish after losing control of Congress. In the episode’s description, the show identified Senate confirmations and losses in state legislatures among DeSantis’s concerns. He discussed grocery prices, the Iran conflict and congressional stock trading. Steele also asked about a possible presidential campaign in 2028 as the governor considered the party’s next steps.
On Ohio, DeSantis argued that another Republican could have performed better by connecting more closely with the people who form the state’s working-class electorate. He acknowledged that Ramaswamy had compounded his difficulties through his own conduct during the campaign. In the exchange quoted by Mediaite, DeSantis said: “You gotta meet the voters where they are on some of this stuff.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.