Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has criticized Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate, for failing to connect with the working-class voters in Ohio, which he believes contributed to Ramaswamy's loss in the state's gubernatorial race. DeSantis made these remarks on the Sage Steele Show, arguing that Ramaswamy, described as a "tech guy," was out of step with the concerns of blue-collar residents.

Ramaswamy, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, lost his bid for Ohio governor to Democrat Amy Acton. DeSantis suggested that Ramaswamy's support for a merit-based H-1B visa system, aiming to "gut" the current lottery system, was a misstep that alienated voters.

"He wants to bring in foreign workers on visas. That is not the type of person that's going to sell," DeSantis said. He noted that Ramaswamy's own companies, including Roivant Sciences, have utilized the H-1B program, with Roivant Sciences having 29 applications approved between 2018 and 2023. Additionally, Strive Asset Management, a firm Ramaswamy co-founded, relocated its headquarters from Columbus to Dallas in 2025, prior to his gubernatorial campaign.

DeSantis also pointed to the controversial attack ad used by Ramaswamy's campaign against Acton, which involved her estranged mother. The ad drew bipartisan criticism for omitting Acton's lack of contact with her mother since childhood and the circumstances surrounding her stepfather's arrest.

"I know he shot himself in the foot," DeSantis said of Ramaswamy's campaign tactics. "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."

DeSantis contended that Ohio, a state with a significant blue-collar population, would have benefited from a candidate who better represented the interests of these voters. He also broadly criticized Republican midterm election losses, calling them an "extinction-level event" and faulting GOP lawmakers for not codifying former President Trump's executive orders into law.

Regarding speculation about his own political future, DeSantis stated that he would only run for office again if he could "deliver big results" and did not wish to be a "potted plant."