Indian-origin Pureval pips JD Vance's half-brother in Cincinnati mayor race

US Vice President JD Vance did not fund or actively campaign for his half-brother, though he posted on X, encouraging voters to support him

Indian-origin Aftab Pureval won reelection as mayor of Cincinnati on Tuesday (local time), defeating  Republican Cory Bowman by a huge margin. Bowman is the half-brother of US Vice President JD Vance.

 

Both the CNN and Associated Press declared Pureval the winner.

 

Earlier this year, Pureval had shown strong voter support by winning more than 80 per cent of the vote in the city’s all-party primary in May. In the final count, CNN reported that he received 79.9 per cent of the votes (22,872), while Bowman managed only 20.1 per cent (5,760).

Who is Aftab Pureval?

Pureval was first elected mayor in 2021. The office is officially nonpartisan, but his party preference is Democratic. 

 

Born in Ohio to a Punjabi father and a Tibetan refugee mother, Pureval developed an interest in leadership and public service from a young age. He won his first school election in eighth grade with the slogan "Big, Brown and Beautiful".

 

After earning a law degree from the University of Cincinnati, Pureval worked in Washington, DC, as an attorney before returning to Hamilton County as a special assistant US attorney with the Department of Justice.

 

He later joined Procter & Gamble in 2013 as legal counsel for Olay, one of its global skincare brands. In 2016, he left the company to begin his political career, which eventually led to his historic win as mayor.

Bowman: A pastor, Republican and Vance's half-brother

Cory Bowman, 36, is an evangelical pastor and coffee shop owner in Cincinnati. He and Vance share the same father, Donald Ray Bowman, but reconnected only as teenagers after years of separation.

 

Bowman founded 'The River Church', a non-denominational Christian ministry, and runs Kings Arms Coffee, which opened in 2022.

Vance did not campaign for Bowman

According to USA Today, Vance did not fund or actively campaign for his half-brother, though he posted on X, encouraging voters to support him. Voting records also show that Vance, who lives and is registered to vote in Cincinnati's East Walnut Hills neighbourhood, did not vote in the primary.