After months of contentious mayoral campaigning and dozens of council candidates vying to stand out in a crowded race, Cincinnati’s election has wrapped with little changed at City Hall.
With 100% of Hamilton County precincts reporting, these are the results.
The race for mayor ended as predicted with Democratic incumbent Mayor Aftab Pureval securing his second term. Pureval raked in 78% of the vote over Republican challenger (and half-brother to veep JD Vance) Cory Bowman, who managed 22%, or about 14,383 votes.
The city council race was one to watch with 26 candidates, including eight incumbents, running for nine open seats. All eight incumbents won their seats — Council Member Victoria Parks is the only member who opted out of the race — and political newcomer Ryan James won the final seat. At 29, James is the youngest Black man to sit on Cincinnati City Council.
The entire council is Democrat-endorsed. The 10th-place vote-getter was Republican Liz Keating, who previously served on council. Here’s the order of votes earned by council winners:
This year’s election centered heavily on public safety, especially in the mayor’s race. Read more in CityBeat‘s 2025 Election Guide.