The 36-year-old political newcomer opposes incumbent Democrat Aftab Pureval and tries to become the city’s first Republican mayor since 1978.
Corey Bowman, the younger brother of Vice President JD Vance, advanced from the Cincinnati mayoral primary on May 6, taking a direct challenge with incumbent Democratic Mayor Aftab Purebar in the November general election.
The Associated Press reported that 95% of the precincts report reporting, while Pureval received 2,894 votes (12.9%) from Bowman and 1,022 votes for Republican Brian Frank (4.6%).
Under Cincinnati’s mayoral primary rules, only the top two finishers will follow the November general election. Frank was eliminated.
In a Facebook post after learning he had moved forward, Bowman thanked Cincinnati voters.
A political newcomer, 36-year-old Bowman is a pastor at a church on the western edge of the city, not far from the coffee shop he owns and operates.
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Like Bowman, Vance is a native of Ohio. He and his wife, Usha Vance, own a home in Cincinnati’s East Walnut Hills area. He served as the US Senate before receiving promotion in January.
Bowman told the Epoch Times that he attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January and after seeing his older brother, known as a role model, become vice president, he decided to run for mayor of Cincinnati.
Vance hasn’t played an active role in the brothers’ campaign, but on May 6th he offered his final two seconds of support on X.
Cincinnati mayoral candidate Corey Bowman is in talks with customers on April 25, 2025 at his coffee shop in Cincinnati. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times
Deep Blue Cincinnati
Ohio has a strong Republican presence.
Trump has comfortably won the state in the last three elections. Vance was elected to the Senate in 2022, replacing longtime Republican Rep. Rob Portman. Trump-approved Bernie Moreno defeated longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November. Ohio has Republican Governor Mike DeWine and a Republican super majority in the state legislature.
Of the 15 US Congressmen in Ohio, 10 are Republicans.
But Democrats control Cincinnati, which has an all-democratic city council.
When Trump registered an overwhelming victory last November, 77% of Cincinnati voters voted for then-President Kamala Harris.
Ohio’s First Congressional District, including Cincinnati, is represented by Democrat Greg Landsman, who defeated incumbent Republican Steve Chabbott and Republican Challenger Orlando Sonza in 2022 in November.
If Bowman could beat Purebal in November, he would become Cincinnati’s first Republican mayor since Ken Blackwell held the post from 1978 to 1980.
Until Bowman and Frank entered the race this year, Republicans had not run for mayor of the city since 2009 when Bradwenstrap lost before he eventually became the representative of the United States.
The future of the city
Pureval, 42, is seeking a second term as mayor of Cincinnati. The Democrat is a lawyer and former special aide, serving as clerk at Hamilton County Courthouse before winning the 2021 mayoral election with about 66% of the votes.
In a statement on the evening of May 6, Pureval said the city deserves a “substantial and healthy discussion about the future of our city” leading up to the November general election.
“We have a job ahead of us in Cincinnati, but we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the past few years,” Purebar said.
“We have made meaningful and concrete progress for people throughout our community, and this is a moment when we continue to build on the momentum we have worked so hard to create,” he added.
Pureval said the key issues for Cincinnati voters were the same as when he first ran.
“They continue to be public safety, and that’s the only problem that most hears at City Hall,” Purebar said on May 6.
The Epoch Times contacted Pureval for comments.
On the afternoon of May 6th, Bowman met with voters and diners in Price Hill Chile.
“I tell people I’m very nervous and very confident at the same time. It’s a crazy feeling, but I was encouraged to go out and vote,” Bowman told a Cincinnati TV station.
He added that he was “joking about Star Wars” with Vance on May 5th.
“It’s the relationship we have with the place I put first and foremost that he is a political candidate or a brother to a political advisor,” Bowman said.
Bowman holds a degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Miami in Oxford in southwestern Ohio.
He moved to Tampa and studied for the Ministry of River University, where he met his wife, Jordan, from Oklahoma.
“I prayed that the Lord would put it in his heart to love Cincinnati just as much as I did. After the visit, she told me this was where we wanted our family to be raised,” Bowman said.
The couple moved to Cincinnati in 2020 after living in Tampa for nine years. They launched the Cincinnati River in 2020 and opened King’s Arms Coffee in 2022.
Bowman said he and Purebal have different opinions about the current state of Cincinnati and the city’s short-term and long-term future.
Bowman’s platform focuses on reducing gun violence and improving economic development and overall living conditions in neighborhoods such as the West End and Downtown. Other sections of Cincinnati are not attracting the same attention as the downtown area, Bowman believes.
Pureval supports its status as a sanctuary city in Cincinnati, and Bowman opposes it.
“We have 100% Democratic-controlled councils and mayors, simply reflecting all of their opinions, and those views have not worked for the past four years,” Bowman told the Epoch Times on April 25th.
His relationship with Bowman with a prominent figure in national politics does not reflect his plan to serve as mayor of Cincinnati, he told the Epoch Times.
“Conversations with people running for the mayor were: ‘Are you red or blue, right or left?” Bowman said.
