Who is Cory Bowman, JD Vance’s half-brother, who lost the Cincinnati mayor race?

Cincinnati’s mayoral election concluded with the reelection of incumbent mayor Aftab Pureval on Tuesday.

The campaign gained unusual national visibility due to the candidacy of challenger Cory Bowman, the half-brother of United States Vice President JD Vance.

Pureval, who first assumed office in 2021, emerged again as the voters’ choice following a campaign season marked by heated debates over the state of crime in Cincinnati.

Meanwhile, Bowman, a pastor and small business owner who moved to Cincinnati in 2020, argued that his work in community spaces positioned him to offer a different kind of leadership.

How is Bowman related to JD Vance?

Bowman and Vance share a biological father, Donald Bowman.

Vance’s account of his childhood and estrangement from his father is widely known due to his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, in which he describes a tumultuous upbringing, his mother’s decision to cut ties with Donald Bowman, and the subsequent name change meant to distance Vance from that branch of his family.

As a result, Vance did not grow up with his half-siblings and was unaware of them during his early childhood.

The two eventually connected when Vance was around 13 years old, having expressed interest in meeting his biological father. That encounter initiated a sibling relationship that grew through shared time and adulthood interactions.

Bowman recalls that their first memories together involved casual, personal moments, such as playing basketball and gradually building familiarity. Over the years, the two would come to share a family life built on their own terms rather than lineage.

Both Bowman and Vance are fathers. Bowman and his wife Jordan have four children — their fourth child was born in June — while Vance and his wife also have three children.

Bowman was present at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July 2024, when Vance was formally named as US President Donald Trump’s running mate.

Later, Bowman and his family also travelled to Washington, DC, to attend Vance’s inauguration as US vice president in January. Reflecting on that moment, Bowman wrote online that he was thankful that their family could experience it together.

Yet Bowman has consistently maintained that his political aspirations were independent of Vance’s national role.

Bowman has stated, “As far as the relationship with JD, I tell people he’s my brother, he’s not a political counsellor to me.”

He added, “There was nobody that pushed me into it, nobody that told me that this is a pathway I should go.” While acknowledging that Vance occasionally asked about the campaign, Bowman said their conversations were generally more familial than strategic.

“He’ll ask how the campaign’s doing, and I’ll ask him how being vice president is, and it’s usually a short talk. At the end of this, I would rather have a brother than a political advisor.”

Notably, Vance did not contribute financially to Bowman’s campaign and did not participate in rallies or campaign events. His only public act of support was a social media post on the day of the primary urging voter participation.

Records also show that Vance did not cast a vote in the primary election, even though he resides in the city’s East Walnut Hills neighbourhood.

Who is Bowman and what does he do?

Bowman grew up in rural areas of Butler and Preble counties, north of Cincinnati. His educational background includes studying economics at Miami University in Ohio.

He later pursued and completed a ministry degree in Florida, where he met Jordan, who would become his wife. The couple returned to Ohio with the intention of committing themselves to community life and faith-based service.

In Cincinnati, Bowman and Jordan co-founded The River Church Cincinnati.

The church focuses on spiritual revival and personal transformation for residents in the surrounding region. The River describes its vision as providing spaces where individuals can experience what it terms the power of faith in daily life.

Alongside his pastoral work, Bowman also entered small business ownership through Kings Arms Coffee, located in the city’s West End. The café serves as both a neighbourhood business and a community gathering point.

Why did Bowman launch a mayoral campaign?

Bowman announced his candidacy for mayor in February, giving an interview to The Enquirer and sharing a statement online.

He wrote, “I am officially announcing my candidacy for the position of Mayor of the City of Cincinnati in 2025.”

He explained that after returning home from the January presidential inauguration, he felt a renewed sense of commitment to the city. “When I landed, I knew the city where my family and I live and love cannot fall behind in the critical years ahead.”

Despite his personal profile and national family link, Bowman’s campaign structure was modest. Reports indicated that he raised around $13,500 over the course of the race, while Pureval raised approximately $71,000.

Bowman relied on a volunteer-driven team and acknowledged the difficulty of building a broad fundraising network. His financial situation was consistent with that of a small business owner and community leader rather than a national-level political figure.

Bowman argued that his candidacy was motivated by local loyalty rather than political strategy.

He said, “What I want to run as is I’m somebody that deeply loves Cincinnati. I do have a background in economics, statistics and administration, and so I can kind of see certain things with the city that we can do better at.”

Why did crime dominate the Cincinnati mayoral election?

The mayoral contest unfolded in a period that saw violent incidents in Cincinnati.

Several high-profile crimes earlier in the year had heated the conversation, including the June killing of Patrick Heringer in his home and the widespread circulation of a video showing a chaotic fight in the downtown area.

These events contributed to a narrative that Cincinnati was facing a wave of disorder, a framing that Bowman and his Republican supporters spotlighted in campaign messaging. They maintained that the situation required stronger intervention and more assertive city action.

Pureval, however, contested the premise that city leadership had been passive. He pointed to efforts such as expanding police recruitment efforts and enforcing a tighter curfew as examples of steps already being taken to address security issues.

In a public debate hosted by The Enquirer, Pureval criticised Bowman and those backing his candidacy, referring to them as “MAGA extremists.”

While the nonpartisan nature of the race prevented official party labels from appearing on the ballot, political identities remained clear. Pureval enjoyed support from local Democratic networks, while Bowman received backing from local Republican organisations.

Pureval had earlier dominated the all-party primary in May, securing more than four-fifths of the vote. His initial rise to the mayor’s office had come after a career in law, and his reelection ensured the continuation of his administrative focus.

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With inputs from agencies