Politics
NEW: J.D. Vance’s Half-Brother Announces Run For Office
Vice President J.D. Vance’s half-brother, Cory Bowman, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his “role model” sibling by announcing a bid for mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Bowman, a registered Republican who serves as the pastor of The River Church in Cincinnati, announced his political ambitions in an X post earlier this week. “Weeks ago, my flight touched down at CVG, returning home from the most monumental inauguration in my generation. When I landed, I knew the city where my family and I live and love cannot fall behind in the critical years ahead,” he wrote.
Bowman, 36, went on to say that he is ready for the turmoil that inevitably comes with running for political office. ‘Many have told me “Get ready. They will come after you.’ I’m not sure who ‘they’ are or if ‘they’ are seeing this, but my heart is simply this…. To provide a choice to the people of Cincinnati. A choice to see years of prosperity, growth, and joy in our amazing downtown,” the announcement post continued.
“A population should never be complacent with how things are. They should have the choice to decide their own future.”
The 36-year-old went on to state that additional details on his campaign would be released in the coming days. For now, Bowman is asking supporters to help get his name on the ballot, which will require signatures from 500-1,000 registered voters in Cincinnati.
Bowman (right) poses for a photo with Vice President Vance, his wife, Usha Vance and Beverly Vance, J.D.’s mother, on Inauguration Day
Bowman, who shares a father with the vice president, told the Cincinnati Enquirer that he spoke with his half-brother about running for office before making the announcement. “I don’t necessarily speak for my brother because he speaks pretty well for himself. And he’s doing well,” he said. “I will say that he’s an incredible role model of mine.”
While he had considering the idea of running for office in order to give back to the city, where he also owns the Kings Arms Coffee shop, Vance’s inauguration inspired him to pull the trigger. “There’s nobody that cheered louder when he was getting sworn in than me, because he’s my brother,” he said.
Bowman also attended the Republican National Committee back in July, where his half-brother was announced as President Trump’s running mate. “Half of those people (who were there) wouldn’t have been caught dead in that room eight years ago,” he said. “It wasn’t just established Republicans, it was more so people wanting a change.”
The mayoral hopeful has always found himself on the conservative side of ideological spectrum, however, as he told the Cincinnati Enquirer that he mostly aligns with conservative values. He pointed to overregulation and the rise of low-income housing in the city’s West End, which has caused multiple residents to file federal housing complaints, as top priorities for his campaign.
The Cincinnati mayoral race is a non-partisan field race between the two top vote-getters in the primary. If fewer than three candidates run, there will not be a primary. This will likely not be an issue this year, as eight candidates have already announced their respective candidacies. None of the candidates have turned in the required 500 signatures as of this report, however. They will have until February 20 to do so.
Democratic Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, who is finishing up his first term in office, told the Cincinnati Enquirer that he intends to run again and is raising funds. If Bowman collects the required number of signatures, he will be the first Republican to run for Cincinnati mayor since 2009.
