Who is Cory Bowman? JD Vance's Half Brother Running for Cincinnati Mayor

Cory Bowman left Washington, D.C., in January feeling energized after watching his half brother, JD Vance, be sworn in as vice president. The moment stirred something unexpected in the 36-year-old evangelical pastor and entrepreneur from Cincinnati.

Bowman, who shares a father with Vance, had already been deeply involved in community work—launching The River Church Cincinnati and opening Kings Arms Coffee in the city's West End—but never imagined a future in politics. That changed in the weeks following the inauguration when Bowman decided to launch a campaign for mayor.

Newsweek has reached out to Vance's office via email on Wednesday afternoon for comment.

What to Know About Cory Bowman

A registered Republican, Bowman grew up on a farm near Hamilton, studied economics at Miami University, and earned a ministry degree in Florida, where he met his wife, Jordan. They returned to Ohio to raise a family and serve the community.

Vance and Bowman share the same father, Donald Bowman, though they had very different upbringings and only connected later in life. According to Vance's memoir Hillbilly Elegy, his biological father was largely absent during his childhood. Vance's mother changed his name and cut ties with Donald Bowman, seeking to erase the connection. As a result, Vance grew up estranged from his father and was unaware of his half-siblings, including Cory Bowman, for many years.

That began to change when Vance was around 13 years old. He expressed a desire to meet his biological father and eventually connected with his half-siblings. Cory Bowman, who is younger than Vance, recalls their first meeting fondly, including playing basketball together and beginning to form a relationship that would grow stronger over time.

Both now have three children, and Cory's wife is expecting a fourth child in June. Bowman attended July's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee when Vance was officially nominated as President Donald Trump's running mate.

Bowman maintains that his candidacy is his own, despite his ties to the vice president. "As far as the relationship with JD, I tell people he's my brother, he's not a political counselor to me," he said. "He is not somebody that planted me here in this city."

"There was nobody that pushed me into it, nobody that told me that this is a pathway I should go," Bowman said in a recent interview. "But I just thought this would be a great way to help impact the city in another realm as well, because that's always been the focus."

Bowman, who moved to the city in 2020, didn't vote in the last mayoral election—something Pureval has used to question his opponent's commitment to the city. Bowman counters that his roots run deep.

"My family always considered Cincinnati our home, this area our home, this (Ohio River) valley," he said.

If elected, Bowman would join a growing list of family members of presidents and vice presidents who have pursued office themselves. Still, Bowman insists his campaign is not politically motivated by national affiliations.

"What I want to run as is I'm somebody that deeply loves Cincinnati," he said. "I do have a background in economics, statistics and administration, and so I can kind of see certain things with the city that we can do better at."

Bowman Faces Incumbent Democrat Aftab Pureval

Incumbent Mayor Aftab Pureval, a Democrat widely seen as a rising star in the party, is seeking reelection. A former special assistant U.S. attorney, Pureval won his first mayoral race in 2021 with 66 percent of the vote. Bowman, a Republican, says his decision to run was partly spurred by seeing Pureval unopposed—until procurement specialist Brian Frank also entered the race, turning it into a three-way primary.

Cincinnati's mayoral elections are nonpartisan; the top two vote-getters on May 6 will advance to November's general election.

"I think it's fantastic that I'm not running unopposed," Pureval said outside a ribbon-cutting event for new downtown apartments in the old Macy's building. "I believe it's important for Cincinnati voters to have different visions from which to choose."

Reporting by the Associated Press contributed to this story.

Update: 4/23/25, 1:35 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update: 4/23/25, 1:45 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update: 4/23/25, 3:33 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.