The nationally-watched Cincinnati mayoral race will be decided Nov. 4.
Republican Cory Bowman, who is Vice President JD Vance’s half-brother, faces long odds against Democratic incumbent Mayor Aftab Pureval.
Crime takes center stage
Crime has dominated the headlines and campaign. Cincinnati leaders faced criticism this summer after several high-profile incidents, including the stabbing of Patrick Heringer in his home and the video of a brawl Downtown that went viral.
Bowman and Republicans have tried to paint the city as overrun with crime. Pureval has countered that the city leadership combatted crime through numerous measures, including implementing a stricter curfew and recruiting more officers.
In a debate with Bowman sponsored by The Enquirer, Pureval called Bowman and his supporters “MAGA extremists.”
The race is officially nonpartisan, but Bowman has been endorsed by the local GOP while Pureval has the backing of local Democrats.
Signal 99 has influence
Crime was a top concern for Robert Culbertson. He voted for Bowman.
The 67-year-old resident of Hyde Park walked out of the polling location with the list of candidates endorsed by Signal 99.
“I voted the whole thing, because we need change,” Culbertson said.
The Facebook and X page Signal 99 is an anonymously run local forum that describes itself as a “spicy meme page” for police and other first responders. It’s also been the platform with some of the most vitriolic criticism of Pureval and the city’s Democratic leadership. The page endorsed Bowman for mayor.
The videos of the brawl that went viral concerned Culbertson. He has traveled Downtown only once in the past six months due to safety concerns. He said he used to go downtown all the time.
Even though he said he feels safe in Hyde Park, he’s considering moving out of the city if leadership doesn’t change.
“I don’t want to be cloistered,” Culbertson said. “I don’t like the leadership that we have in the city of Cincinnati right now.”
Many still not voting for Bowman
Still, many in the heavily Democratic city didn’t want to vote for Bowman.
Brian Mitchell, 26, of the West End said he wasn’t excited about voting for either Pureval or Bowman. He said he hasn’t seen much improvement on infrastructure and road conditions. He still voted for Pureval. He said he wasn’t going to vote for Vance’s half-brother.
“I don’t exactly like fascists or people related to fascists, so Bowman is not a super great candidate in my eyes either,” Mitchell said. “So I did vote for Pureval. It’s unfortunately one of those evil you know, evil you don’t.”
Mildred Fallen has lived in the West End her whole life. Fallen, 50, voted for Pureval. She’s concerned about crime but feels some of the coverage has been blown out of proportion. The area was more dangerous when she was growing up.
She said she doesn’t trust Bowman’s motives for getting into politics.
“I don’t feel like he has the people at large in mind,” Fallen said. “I just feel like he’s kind of trying to piggyback on what his brother-in-law is doing and get into politics that way.”
Police chief drama stirs controversy
One of the biggest controversies in the race came in the last month of the campaign regarding Cincinnati’s police chief. The city manager placed Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge on administrative leave, drawing the ire of both Democrats and Republicans.
Pureval said that he did not pressure the city manager to take action against the police chief.
In the days leading up to the city manager placing Theetge on administrative leave, Pureval did not give a direct response about whether he still had confidence in the police chief. He said, however, he supported the city manager’s decision.
Democrats tough to beat in Cincinnati
Despite the controversy over crime, Bowman and Republicans have a steep hill to climb in Cincinnati, a city that has voted 3-to-1 Democrat in recent presidential elections.
Pureval finished well ahead of Bowman in the primary, 83% to 13%. Both still advanced as the top two candidates in the three-candidate primary.
Pureval has also significantly outraised Bowman, $311,913 this year compared to Bowman’s $56,033 as of the last reports filed in October. Pureval has even garnered the support of prominent Republican donors Carl Lindner III and Martha Lindner. They have given thousands of dollars to Republican causes over the years, including $844,000 each to President Donald Trump.
Republican Cory Bowman(left) faces incumbent Democratic Mayor Aftab Pureval in the Cincinnati mayor’s race
Vance hasn’t contributed to Bowman’s campaign
One notable absence from Bowman’s donor list: Vance. Vance hasn’t contributed to Bowman’s campaign or gotten involved publicly beyond a post on the social media site X on primary day, urging people to vote for his half-brother. Voting records show Vance, who lives and is registered to vote in Cincinnati’s East Walnut Hills neighborhood, did not vote in the primary.
Bowman has said he’s not looking to his half-brother for political support. When the pair talk, it’s usually about “Star Wars” or their children, he said.
“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,” Bowman said. “At the end of this, I would rather have a brother than a political advisor.”
Polls close at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati mayoral election pits Dem mayor against Vance’s brother