2 Republicans including JD Vance’s half brother challenge Cincinnati’s Democratic mayor

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS Ohio AP Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval faces two challengers Tuesday in the city s nonpartisan primary including Vice President JD Vance s half brother The top two vote-getters in the contest to lead Ohio s third-largest city will go on to compete in November s general electoral contest Related Articles Canadian Prime Minister Carney arrives in Washington for a high-stakes meeting with President Trump Adrian Wooldridge The war on woke universities will slow US innovation Hegseth directs cut to top military leadership positions Trump has threatened a tariff on movies made outside the US Here s what we know Trump administration says Harvard will receive no new grants until it meets White House demands Cory Bowman Vance s half brother is an evangelical pastor and coffee shop owner Neither he nor fellow Republican challenger Brian Frank a procurement professional have held society office before but stated they didn t want to see the incumbent Democrat s reelection bid go unchallenged in the heavily Democratic city Were Bowman to pull an upset he would be the latest family member of a president or vice president to serve in office That includes the brother of Mike Pence President Donald Trump s first vice president who was elected to Congress during Trump s previous administration Bowman has stated that he wants to improve his city not get involved in national politics He says his half brother s inauguration in January inspired him to get involved in politics but that Vance is just his brother not his political counselor Pureval is viewed as a Democratic up-and-comer A former special assistant U S attorney congressional candidate and Hamilton County clerk of courts the -year-old won the mayor s race with nearly of the vote Perennially low turnout in Cincinnati s off-year mayoral primaries has led to surprising results for chosen candidates who were favored going in Democrat John Cranley a former City Council member topped a former mayor of the city Roxanne Qualls in the mayoral primary and parlayed the momentum into a win that fall Four years later Cranley came in second in the primary to Yvette Simpson then a member of City Council The incumbent mayor nonetheless won reelection that fall Voters in Cincinnati and across Ohio will also be voting Tuesday on State Issue It seeks to reauthorize a initiative that would provide billion for roads bridges and other needed local infrastructure projects over the next decade