JD Vance's Brother Is Running for Cincinnati Mayor, but He Probably Won't Win

There are plenty of political families in the world from the Bush's to the Clintons, and now it looks like Vice President JD Vance is trying to get the rest of his family into the political world. In a recent tweet, Vance promoted his half-brother Cory Bowman, who is running to be the next mayor of Cincinnati as a Republican.

Following the news of his run, many wanted to know more about Vance's half-brother, and what kind of relationship they might have. Here's what we know.

JD Vance's brother Cory Bowman is an evangelical pastor who lives in Cincinnati. He and Vance are only half-brothers, as they share the same father. Bowman also co-owns a coffee shop in Cincinnati and said he was inspired to run after he attended his brother's inauguration.

Bowman made clear, though, that although the two of them have a relationship, his brother is not any sort of advisor to him.

"As far as the relationship with JD, I tell people he's my brother, he's not a political counselor to me," Bowman said, per the BBC. "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," he continued. "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 has campaigned on ending Cincinnati's status as a sanctuary city, which would mean allowing immigrants to be arrested by federal law enforcement inside of Cincinnati. He has also discussed improving safety and tackling "financial corruption" in the city.

In the primary that was held on May 6, Bowman received just 13 percent of the vote while incumbent mayor Aftab Pureval received 83 percent, which suggests that the race will be tough sledding heading into the general election.

Although Cory and JD share a father, as JD detailed in Hillbilly Elegy, he was raised primarily by his single mother and grandmother. Cory and JD had a limited relationship growing up, which doesn't mean that the two don't know each other in adulthood. It's an important reminder, though, that JD and Cory were not raised together, at least not primarily.

It's notable, too, that JD's endorsement of his brother was free of a lot of the rhetoric that he would typically use on the campaign trail.

"Hey Cincinnati! My brother Cory Bowman is running for mayor and is on the ballot today for the primary. He’s a good guy with a heart for serving his community. Get out there and vote for him!" he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Not a single minority group was demonized.

While Cory seems unlikely to become the next mayor of Cincinnati, it's clear that he might harbor some of the same political dreams as his brother. For the moment, though, he hasn't been able to ascend to the same heights.