An Ohio Republican candidate has triggered a fresh political debate over H-1B visas, layoffs, and outsourcing, after sharing her personal experience and allegations against a major tech company on social media.
Kim Georgeton, who is running for lieutenant governor of Ohio, posted on X about losing her job in March 2024, claiming that an entire department was replaced rather than just a few employees. According to her, the layoffs were part of a broader pattern in which foreign workers were brought in under the H-1B visa program.
She alleged that Infosys replaced all employees in her department and prioritized retaining certain workers over American staff. “This isn’t a story. It’s a playbook,” she wrote, framing the incident as part of a larger trend of H-1B misuse in the state.
Georgeton further claimed that Ohio has lost around $300 million per H-1B worker cycle, arguing that wages for replaced jobs drop significantly and that income generated does not circulate within the local economy. She said the money “doesn’t pay Ohio rent, doesn’t hit Ohio restaurants, doesn’t pay Ohio taxes,” but instead leaves the state.
She also referenced a past case in which Infosys paid $34 million to settle federal fraud allegations related to visa practices, using it to support her argument that abuse of the system has precedent.
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In her post, Georgeton took aim at Vivek Ramaswamy, who is seeking to become Ohio’s governor. She criticized his past use of H-1B visas, stating that his company had used the program multiple times. She also pointed to his previous comments about American work culture and questioned his current stance on reforming the visa system. As she wrote, “The same man whose company used H-1B visas 29 times. The same man who told Americans we ‘venerate mediocrity over excellence.’ He got fired from DOGE partly for saying that. He says he wants to reform H-1B now. His record says otherwise.”
Positioning her campaign around the issue, Georgeton said her own experience of job loss motivated her to run for office. She emphasized that Ohio workers and wages should be protected and kept within the state, while urging voters to support her ticket in the upcoming election. “I’m running for Lt. governor because I know what it feels like. To be told your job, your team, your livelihood just doesn’t matter. Ohio workers matter. Ohio paychecks should stay in Ohio. We will solve this.”
Meanwhile, Ramaswamy may be facing a challenging road in the Ohio governor’s race, adding another layer to the political tensions around jobs and immigration. A March 12 poll by EMC Research shows Ramaswamy trailing Democrat Amy Acton by 10 points, with Acton at 53 percent and Ramaswamy at 43 percent.
The survey, conducted among 1,343 likely November voters between Feb. 10 and 22, indicates that while Acton has consolidated strong Democratic support at 82 percent, Ramaswamy is underperforming within his own party at 65 percent, with independent voters also leaning toward Acton.
The findings mark a notable shift from a December poll by T. Roosevelt Action, where Ramaswamy held a narrow lead, suggesting his campaign could be losing momentum as the race intensifies.