JD Vance’s Half-Brother Running To Be Mayor Of Cincinnati, Challenging Aftab Pureval

India-West News Desk

CINCINNATI, OH — Cory Bowman, the half-brother of Vice President JD Vance, is running for mayor of Cincinnati, setting up a notable political contest against incumbent Aftab Pureval, a rising Democratic figure and the city’s first Asian American mayor.

Pureval the son of Indian and Tibetan immigrants, was raised in Southwest Ohio and lives in Cincinnati’s Clifton neighborhood with his wife Whitney and their two young sons and has deep roots in the city. Bowman,36, is a relative newcomer to the city and its political scene.

Pureval, 42, is seeking a second term after winning his first in 2021 with nearly two-thirds of the vote, becoming the first Democrat in over a century to hold that office. His administration has prioritized equitable economic development, affordable housing, public safety reforms, and environmental action. Under his leadership, Cincinnati has seen a marked drop in violent crime.

Bowman, by contrast, moved to the city around 2020. He said he was drawn to the mayoral race both because it was the next available seat and because he was concerned that Pureval was initially running unopposed. Another Republican, Brian Frank, a 66-year-old procurement professional, entered the race at the same time, setting up a three-way nonpartisan primary on May 6.

The top two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November.

“I think it’s fantastic that I’m not running unopposed,” Pureval told the Associated Press, welcoming the challenge as an affirmation of the city’s vibrant democratic process.

Bowman did not vote in the last mayoral election, a fact Pureval’s campaign has pointed to as a sign of his limited engagement with local issues. Bowman explained to AP that his family moved frequently between Ohio and Florida during his childhood, following his father Donald Bowman’s home-building work. He later attended Miami University in Ohio, earning a degree in economics and business administration, before studying ministry at River University in Tampa.

After meeting his wife Jordan—an Oklahoma native—they moved back to Cincinnati, co-founding The River Church and later opening Kings Arms Coffee, a faith-oriented café. The couple are expecting their fourth child this June.

According to Vance’s memoir Hillbilly Elegy, he had minimal contact with his biological father, Donald Bowman, in childhood and was legally adopted by another man. But Cory Bowman says he and Vance reconnected in adulthood, attending college in Ohio around the same time, marrying, and starting families in parallel.

The Vice President’s office has declined to comment on Bowman’s campaign.