CINCINNATI, Ohio—Aftab Pureval, Cincinnati’s incumbent Democratic mayor who has faced criticism as violent crime has mounted in the city, was elected to a second term on Nov. 4.
The Associated Press called the race at 8:13 p.m. ET. Pureval secured 82 percent of the vote compared to 18 percent for Republican mayoral candidate Cory Bowman, Vice President JD Vance’s younger half-brother.
Bowman had hopes of becoming Cincinnati’s first Republican mayor since Kenneth Blackwell held the seat in the late 1970s. Instead, he had a fate similar to Brad Wenstrup, the last Republican to run for mayor in Ohio’s third-largest city.
Wenstrup lost to a Democrat in the 2009 general election before eventually becoming a Congressman.
In Ohio, turnout in off-year elections is usually low. On Nov. 3, Bowman told The Epoch Times that he believed concerns about crime and road conditions in the city would bring voters to the polls.
Meeting with supporters over lunch at Price Hill Chili, a popular diner on the city’s west side, Bowman took a breather on an Election Day that started before sunrise at a poll in Sayler Park, one of Cincinnati’s 52 neighborhoods.
Bowman noted that conversations with voters at polls he had visited on Election Day in the morning reinforced his Nov. 3 comments.
“We haven’t copied and pasted national politics into this race. Residents, regardless of party affiliation, care about public safety, the condition of the roads, the budget, and how City Hall spends money,” Bowman said.
"Those are the issues we’ve focused on, and from what I’ve heard today, that has brought people out to vote.
Bowman is a pastor and a coffee shop owner in Cincinnati’s west side.
He told The Epoch Times before May’s primary that he was inspired to launch a mayoral campaign after attending the inauguration of President Donald Trump, when Vance officially took office as vice president.
At the time, Bowman acknowledged it was a long-shot bid.
In Ohio, Republicans occupy the two U.S. Senate seats, 10 of the 15 Congressional spots, and the governor’s office. There is a Republican super-majority in the state legislature, and Trump decisively won the state all three times he ran for president.
Cincinnati, however, is a deep blue city. Along with Pureval, the community has an all-Democratic city council.
In the 2024 presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris carried the city with around 75 percent of the vote compared to about 22 percent for Trump.
As of the May 6 primary, there were around 221,000 registered voters. Only 10 percent cast their ballots.
Pureval received 83 percent of the ballots compared to 13 percent for Bowman.
In Cincinnati, the top two candidates in the primary advance to the general election.
Pureval, 43, is a lawyer and former special assistant U.S. attorney who served as Hamilton County clerk of courts before winning the 2021 mayoral race with about 66 percent of the vote.
Only 10 percent of registered voters showed up at the polls during this year’s mayoral primary, when Pureval gained 83 percent of the ballots compared with 13 percent for Bowman.
In Cincinnati, the top two candidates in the primary advance to the general election.
Pureval, when asked before Election Day if he thinks the race is competitive, said: “I would refer you to the primary.”
Bowman told The Epoch Times that he “kind of went in a cave” after the primary for a short time. This is the first time he has sought political office, and he knew the odds were against him in November.
Before summer, he looked at his campaign as a “strong statement to give Cincinnati residents an option.”
He noted that many Republican voters in Cincinnati have not cast their ballots for city elections because few candidates from the party sought office.
A series of events over the summer, including an inner-city brawl, changed his confidence about the race because the incidents escalated concerns about violent crime.
Since then, Pureval and the city council have faced increased criticism about how they have handled what Bowman calls “a crime epidemic” in Cincinnati.
Pureval said public safety is a top priority for his administration.
“I will always support the police,” Pureval said at a debate with Bowman in September. "My administration always says 'yes' to [the Cincinnati Police Department].
“For the previous three years, despite having similar levels of crime, there was not this public outcry for that kind of visibility. So we are trying to be eyes wide open about evolving with what our community wants and giving it to them. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
Following a shooting on Fountain Square in the heart of downtown Cincinnati on Oct. 13, political pressure on Pureval’s administration further escalated.
City Manager Sheryl Long placed Police Chief Teresa Theetge on paid leave and launched an internal investigation into the effectiveness of her leadership.
After Theetge was placed on leave in October, Pureval was asked by reporters if new leadership was under consideration. He said that the city is “exploring all options.”
Bowman told The Epoch Times he thinks that Pureval is shifting blame for the “violent crime epidemic” and not taking responsibility.
Bowman noted that the Fraternal Order of Police and the Firefighters Union endorsed his campaign. The Fraternal Order of Police announced a vote of no confidence in Pureval in August.
Pureval has defended his administration’s response to public safety in Cincinnati. He has touted steps the city has taken, including more police recruitment classes and a stronger curfew.
"I'm out in the community every weekend, most evenings, and the feedback I'm getting is that they're encouraged about the future," he said last month.
"The long-term strategy is recruiting and retaining more police officers so that we have the manpower to increase our visibility throughout the city and also enforce the law," Pureval added.
"Those recruit classes are a really big part of that."