'He's A Tech Guy': DeSantis Takes A Dig At Vivek Ramaswamy After Ohio Loss

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has criticised Vivek Ramaswamy following his defeat in the Ohio governor's race, saying the Republican candidate failed to connect with the state's working-class voters.

Speaking on the Sage Steele Show, DeSantis questioned why the Republican Party chose Ramaswamy as its candidate in the first place. He said Ohio was a blue-collar state and that a businessman from the technology sector may not have been the right choice.

Ramaswamy lost to Democratic candidate Amy Acton by 7.9 percentage points. His defeat came despite an endorsement from US President Donald Trump and support from advisers close to Vice President JD Vance.

The election was part of a wider Democratic surge across the country. The midterm results were also seen as a setback for Trump, with voters using the elections to express their views on his presidency.

'Ohio Is A Working Class State'

DeSantis said the Republican Party should have picked someone who understood the concerns of ordinary voters in Ohio.

"I don't know why they would have pushed him to be the candidate there. Oh, my mom's from Youngstown. Ohio is a working class state, very blue collar. You know Vivek, he's like a tech guy," DeSantis said.

Ramaswamy is the founder of biotech company Roivant Sciences and investment firm Strive Asset Management. He also briefly worked with Elon Musk to lead Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

DeSantis Takes Aim At Vivek's H-1B Stand

DeSantis also criticised Ramaswamy's position on H-1B visas, which allow US companies to hire skilled foreign workers.

Ramaswamy has supported replacing the current lottery-based system with a merit-based one. He had said the existing system should be "gutted".

DeSantis argued that this position would not appeal to Ohio's working-class voters. "He wants to bring in foreign workers on visas. That is not the type of person that's going to sell." DeSantis said.

Ramaswamy's own companies have used the visa programme. Roivant Sciences had 29 H-1B applications approved between 2018 and 2023.

DeSantis said Ramaswamy had made several mistakes during the campaign but also needed to understand what voters wanted.

"And I know he shot himself in the foot," DeSantis said.

"I know he did a lot of other stuff to make it a real landslide against him. But even with that, it's like you know you got to meet the voters where they are on some of this stuff," he added.

He said Republicans could have done better with a candidate who was more connected to the interests of ordinary people in the state.

"I think we would have done better in Ohio had we had a candidate that was more representative or more in tune with the interests of kind of these blue collar people that make the backbone of Ohio."

DeSantis Also Blames Republicans In Congress

DeSantis also criticised Republicans in Congress, saying the party was now on the "defensive" after the election results.

He blamed lawmakers for failing to turn Trump's executive orders into laws, arguing that they had missed an opportunity to protect the President's policies.

He said the Democratic gains could make it difficult for Republicans to govern, even after Trump's term ends.

"Last night's elections did not only kneecap the last two years of the Trump administration, it basically ensures the four years after that are going to either be Democrat years where they have a trifecta or where you have a Republican president that is hemmed in and limited," DeSantis said.