Breaking: JD Vance’s Brother Defeated in Cincinnati Mayoral Race — Aftab Pureval’s Landslide Signals Broader Democratic Surge
By Elena Vasquez, Political Correspondent Washington, D.C. – November 5, 2025
In a stinging rebuke to the Trump-Vance political machine, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval secured a resounding reelection victory Tuesday night, handily defeating Republican challenger Cory Bowman — Vice President JD Vance’s half-brother — by a margin of 82% to 18% with 22% of votes reported. The Associated Press projected Pureval’s win shortly after polls closed, marking the first Republican mayoral nominee in Cincinnati in over 15 years and ending Bowman’s long-shot bid before it could gain traction. Even Vance’s last-minute endorsement failed to buoy Bowman, a pastor and coffee shop owner whose campaign leaned heavily on crime fears and family ties to the White House.
The race, technically nonpartisan but steeped in national partisanship, pitted Pureval — the Democratic incumbent credited with post-pandemic economic rebounds and infrastructure investments — against Bowman’s outsider pitch. Bowman, inspired by Vance’s 2024 vice presidential ascent, advanced from a crowded May primary with just 13% of the vote, finishing a distant second to Pureval’s 83%. His general election effort, backed by local GOP chapters under the “Flip the ‘Nati” banner, hammered crime statistics and promised a “moral revival,” but low turnout and Pureval’s fundraising edge — $312,000 raised to Bowman’s $56,000 — doomed the challenge. Early absentee ballots showed Pureval leading 82%-18%, a gap that widened as Election Day votes rolled in, underscoring Cincinnati’s deep-blue lean in a city that hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 2009.
Vance’s involvement was minimal but symbolic. The vice president endorsed Bowman on primary day via X, urging Cincinnati voters to support “my brother” without financial contributions or rallies. Bowman’s campaign, run from his West End church, framed the race as a “political earthquake” against “woke” policies, but voters rebuffed the fearmongering. “Cincinnati isn’t a crime-ridden hellhole — it’s a vibrant city making progress,” Pureval said in his victory speech at a packed Music Hall ballroom. “Tonight, we reject division and embrace unity.” The incumbent, a Nepali-American former judge who swept into office in 2021 by 17 points, touted falling violent crime rates (down 12% year-over-year) and $500 million in downtown revitalization.
Bowman’s defeat is the latest casualty in what appears to be a historic blue wave sweeping off-year elections, defying Republican hopes of consolidating gains from the 2024 presidential sweep. In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger crushed Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears — another Trump-backed contender — 55%-44%, becoming the state’s first female governor and flipping the executive mansion blue after Glenn Youngkin’s single term. Spanberger’s 11-point win, fueled by suburban outrage over the federal shutdown furloughing 400,000 workers, extended to Democratic sweeps of lieutenant governor (Ghazala Hashmi, 52%-47%) and attorney general (Jay Jones, 51%-49%). “Virginians chose pragmatism over partisanship,” Spanberger declared, vowing to codify abortion rights and expand education funding.
New Jersey delivered another blow: U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D) trounced former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli 56%-43%, securing a third straight Democratic governorship in the Garden State. Sherrill, a Navy helicopter pilot turned prosecutor, raised $48 million to Ciattarelli’s $28 million, capitalizing on anti-Trump sentiment and scandals like leaked military records from a Ciattarelli ally. Her victory speech — a fiery vow to “smash the donor class’s stranglehold” via campaign finance reform — ignited partisan fury, with Trump branding it “radical left money” and even moderates like Rep. Josh Gottheimer questioning its edge. Exit polls showed women breaking 62%-37% for Sherrill, echoing suburban shifts in Pennsylvania, where voters retained all three Democratic Supreme Court justices (Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, David Wecht) with 68%-32% yes votes, preserving a 5-2 liberal majority.
Georgia’s off-year races added to the tally: Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard upset Republican incumbents Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson on the Public Service Commission, flipping two seats for the first time since 2006 and gaining leverage over Georgia Power rate hikes that have burdened households with $516 annual increases. “Voters connected the dots on utility greed,” said Johnson, whose 58%-41% win signals suburban backlash against GOP economic policies.
This “blue wave” — Democrats netting governorships in VA and NJ, PSC seats in GA, and judicial retention in PA — bucks post-2024 gloom, with turnout up 18% in key suburbs amid the shutdown’s fury. A Siena College post-election poll shows 71% of independents blaming Republicans for the impasse, eroding MAGA momentum. “This year was slow, but it’s the beginning of something bigger,” said DNC Chair Jaime Harrison. “Voters reject chaos — they want competence.”
Republicans, stung by Bowman’s 64-point drubbing, face introspection. Vance’s endorsement — his first familial foray — yielded zero donations and minimal visibility, highlighting the VP’s selective engagement. Trump raged on Truth Social: “Rigged in Cincy! Cory fought hard against the radical Dems.” House Speaker Mike Johnson called it a “tough night,” but insiders whisper of a “Trump curse” after similar flops in NJ and VA.
For Pureval, the win cements his legacy: Crime down 12%, $500 million in investments secured. “Cincinnati’s not for sale to fearmongers,” he said, eyes on 2029. As Democrats clean up — trifectas in VA and NJ, judicial bulwarks in PA — the wave builds. 2026 midterms loom: A harbinger of House flips? Or GOP regroup? Tonight, the blue tide rises — and Washington watches warily.
