Cory Bowman, Vice President JD Vance's half-brother, runs for Cincinnati mayor

CINCINNATI – Cory Bowman was feeling inspired successful January arsenic helium headed location aft watching his half-brother, JD Vance, beryllium inaugurated arsenic vice president.

The 36-year-old Bowman, who shares a begetter with Vance, was already progressive successful the community, starting an evangelical religion successful Cincinnati’s West End and aboriginal opening a java shop. But helium hadn’t thought authorities was his calling.

Now, suddenly, helium did. He decided to motorboat a run for mayor.

“There was cipher that pushed maine into it, cipher that told maine that this is simply a pathway I should go,” helium said successful an interrogation 1 caller morning. “But I conscionable thought this would beryllium a large mode to assistance interaction the metropolis successful different realm arsenic well, due to the fact that that’s ever been the focus.”

Were helium to propulsion an upset successful this predominantly Democratic city, Bowman would beryllium the latest household subordinate of a president oregon vice president to service successful office. That includes the member of Mike Pence, Trump’s archetypal vice president, elected to Congress during their erstwhile administration. In this case, however, Bowman says his tally isn’t tied to nationalist authorities arsenic overmuch arsenic a tendency to amended the city.

“What I privation to tally arsenic is I’m idiosyncratic that profoundly loves Cincinnati," Bowman said. "I bash person a inheritance successful economics, statistic and administration, and truthful I tin benignant of spot definite things with the metropolis that we tin bash amended at.”

Cincinnati's politician is simply a salient Democrat

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, who is seeking reelection, is viewed arsenic a rising prima wrong the Democratic Party. Pureval, 42, is simply a lawyer and erstwhile peculiar adjunct U.S. lawyer who antecedently served arsenic Hamilton County Clerk of Courts and ran for Congress. He won the 2021 mayor's contention successful Ohio's 3rd largest metropolis with astir 66% of the vote.

Bowman, a Republican, said helium chose to tally for politician partially due to the fact that it was the spot astir instantly up for grabs and partially due to the fact that it bothered him that Pureval was moving unopposed. Another GOP campaigner — procurement nonrecreational Brian Frank, 66 — jumped into the contention astir that aforesaid clip for the aforesaid reason, mounting up a three-way superior adjacent month.

Cincinnati mayoral races are nonpartisan, truthful the apical 2 vote-getters connected May 6 volition look each different successful November.

“I deliberation it’s fantastic that I’m not moving unopposed,” Pureval said, saying helium believes it's important for Cincinnati voters to person antithetic visions from which to choose.

He was lasting extracurricular the ribbon-cutting connected a caller flat analyzable downtown that had conscionable opened wrong the erstwhile Macy’s headquarters. It's the benignant of translation Pureval cites among his accomplishments, besides pointing to the city's increasing colonisation and double-digit driblet successful convulsive crime.

Bowman views the metropolis arsenic home

Bowman moved to Cincinnati astir 2020 and did not ballot successful the past mayor's race. Pureval made an contented of his opponent's comparatively abbreviated clip arsenic a metropolis nonmigratory to suggest "he doesn’t needfully person a way grounds oregon a heavy committedness to the city, oregon relationships successful that way.”

Bowman grew up connected a workplace extracurricular Hamilton, astir 25 miles (40.23 kilometers) north. He said his household “always considered Cincinnati our home, this country our home, this (Ohio River) valley.”

He said his household bounced backmost and distant a batch betwixt Ohio and Florida, due to the fact that their father, Donald Bowman, who died successful 2023, was a customized location builder.

Cory Bowman attended Miami University successful Oxford, Ohio, wherever helium earned a grade successful economics and concern administration, past returned to Florida to survey the ministry astatine River University successful Tampa. It was determination that helium met his wife, who's from Oklahoma, and "convinced her to emotion Cincinnati arsenic overmuch arsenic me.”

They moved backmost and started The River Church Cincinnati, wherever they are co-pastors, past opened Kings Arms Coffee 2 years later. Vance, who was born successful Middletown, Ohio, had moved backmost to the authorities a small earlier. He and his wife, Usha, bought their location successful Cincinnati successful 2018.

Vance is ‘not a governmental counselor,’ Bowman says

According to Vance’s best-selling memoir, “ Hillbilly Elegy,” Donald Bowman's different children were much oregon little strangers to him erstwhile helium was a child. Vance's biologic begetter had fixed him up for adoption and his parent adjacent changed his name to erase immoderate representation of the antheral from their lives.

But Cory Bowman says that Vance yet remedied the situation. When helium was 13, helium asked to conscionable Donald Bowman and his younger member and sister. Cory remembers fondly the aboriginal vice president coming to sojourn and the 2 of them playing basketball.

They’ve since developed a beardown bond, helium said, strengthened done going to assemblage successful Ohio astatine astir the aforesaid clip and getting joined and becoming parents successful tandem. Both person 3 children — 2 boys and a girl, ages 7, 5 and 3. Bowman's wife, Jordan, is expecting their 4th kid successful June.

Vance, 40, is not taking an progressive relation successful the campaign. The vice president's bureau declined to remark connected Bowman's run, and Bowman has acknowledged that helium does not person Vance's endorsement — astatine slightest not yet.

“As acold arsenic the narration with JD, I archer radical he’s my brother, he’s not a governmental counsellor to me,” Bowman said. “He is not idiosyncratic that planted maine present successful this city.”

At run events and debates, Bowman opposed Cincinnati's sanctuary metropolis status, promised to support children harmless and pledged to amended snowfall removal and capable potholes.

Cincinnati elector Desiree Terry, 34, said that she wasn't reasoning astir section authorities close present because, successful her words, “the satellite is exploding.”

But if she votes successful the mayoral race, she'll astir apt take Pureval. Asked astir supporting a comparative of Vance's, Terry said, “It's a no.”

“I conscionable deliberation he’s helping with the chaos and I don’t privation chaos locally,” she said. “It's already each astir us, but it’s not hitting astatine location yet, and I consciousness similar if he’s present it’s going to deed home, due to the fact that it’s already everyplace else, truthful I’d alternatively not.”

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.