J.D. Vance’s Younger Brother is on the Ballot Tonight — But He Will Need to Defy the Odds
Vice President J.D. Vance’s younger brother is on the ballot in the Cincinnati mayoral race.
Cory Bowman, who is a coffee shop owner and pastor, is running in Cincinnati’s mayoral primary against Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval and fellow Republican Brian Frank.
The two winners of this primary will face off in the general election on November 4th.
The 36-year-old, who is the offspring of Vance’s father, Donald Bowman, received an endorsement on Tuesday from his elder brother.
“Hey Cincinnati! My brother Cory Bowman is running for mayor and is on the ballot today for the primary,” J.D. Vance wrote on X.
“He’s a good guy with a heart for serving his community. Get out there and vote for him!”
Hey Cincinnati! My brother Cory Bowman is running for mayor and is on the ballot today for the primary. He’s a good guy with a heart for serving his community. Get out there and vote for him!
— JD Vance (@JDVance) May 6, 2025
In a recent profile for POLITICO, Bowman did not identify himself as a MAGA Republican.
“Whenever I have conversations with people in the city, we don’t start it as ‘You’re red, I’m blue’ type of thing,” he explained.
It’s more like, ‘This is my experience. I’m a coffee shop owner. I’m a pastor in the West End.’”
”I think a lot of times, you can’t really put a right or left stamp on the issues of the city. You got to put it on, ‘Practically, this is what we’re standing up for.’”
Even if Bowman wins his primary, it remains unlikely that he will ever hold the mayoral office.
During the 2021 mayoral race, Democratic incumbent Aftab Pureval won by over 30 points, reasserting the city’s status as a left-wing stronghold.
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Should Bowman prevail, he would not be the first brother of a vice president elected to political office.
During the last Trump administration, Mike Pence’s older brother, Greg, was elected to Congress as the representative for Indiana’s 6th district.
He announced his retirement from Congress in January last year. He has since been replaced by Jefferson Scott Shreve.
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