Mayoral election in Cincinnati, Ohio (2025)
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← 2021
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| 2025 Cincinnati elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: February 20, 2025 |
| Primary election: May 6, 2025 General election: November 4, 2025 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor |
| Total seats up: 1 (click here for other city elections) |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2025 |
The city of Cincinnati, Ohio, held a general election for mayor on November 4, 2025. A primary was scheduled for May 6, 2025. The filing deadline for this election was February 20, 2025.
As of 2025, Cincinnati had term limits for the position of mayor. Mayors could serve two consecutive four-year terms and could run again after a four year break.
Elections
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Candidates and results
General election
General election for Mayor of Cincinnati
Incumbent Aftab Pureval defeated Cory Bowman and Julien Spivey in the general election for Mayor of Cincinnati on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Aftab Pureval (Nonpartisan) | 77.3 | 39,918 |
 | Cory Bowman (Nonpartisan) | 22.7 | 11,727 | |
| Julien Spivey (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 10 | ||
| Total votes: 51,655 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Cincinnati
Incumbent Aftab Pureval and Cory Bowman defeated Brian Frank in the primary for Mayor of Cincinnati on May 6, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Aftab Pureval (Nonpartisan) | 82.6 | 18,747 |
| ✔ | | Cory Bowman (Nonpartisan) | 12.9 | 2,926 |
 | Brian Frank (Nonpartisan) | 4.5 | 1,031 | |
| Total votes: 22,704 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Ohio elections, 2025
May 6, 2025
November 4, 2025
- Ohio $15 Minimum Wage Initiative (2025)
- City elections in Cincinnati, Ohio (2025)
- Cincinnati Public Schools, Ohio, elections (2025)
- Municipal elections in Hamilton County, Ohio (2025)
- Cincinnati City School District, Ohio, Issue 28, Levy Renewal Measure (November 2025)
- Cincinnati, Ohio, Issue 2, Public Safety Internship Program Incentive Charter Amendment (November 2025)
- Cincinnati, Ohio, Issue 3, Changes to Campaign Finance Reporting and Elections Commission Vacancies Charter Amendment (November 2025)
- Hamilton County, Ohio, Issue 34, Parks and Recreation Tax Renewal Measure (November 2025)
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Candidate profiles
There were no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles would have appeared here as candidates completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Mayoral partisanship
Twenty-seven of the 100 largest cities held mayoral elections in 2025. Once mayors elected in 2025 assumed office, 67 top-100 mayors were affiliated with the Democratic Party, 22 were Republicans, one was a Libertarian, three were independents, and five were nonpartisan. Two mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.
The following top 100 cities saw a change in mayoral partisan affiliation in 2025.
- Omaha, Nebraska: Democrat John Ewing Jr. was elected to succeed Republican Jean Stothert on May 13. Ewing Jr. assumed office on June 9.[1]
- Garland, Texas: Nonpartisan Dylan Hedrick was elected to succeed Republican Scott LeMay in the general runoff election on June 7. Hedrick assumed office on June 17.[2]
- Miami, Florida: Democrat Eileen Higgins was elected to suceed Republican Francis Suarez in the general runoff on December 9.[3] Higgins assumed office on December 18, 2025.
Help inform our readers
Take our candidate survey
- See also: Survey
At Ballotpedia, we believe that everyone deserves meaningful, reliable, trustworthy information about their candidates. We also know that good information—especially at the local level—is hard to find. That's why Ballotpedia created Candidate Connection.
We ask all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Our survey helps voters better understand how their candidates think about the world and how they intend to govern—information they need to feel confident they're picking the best person for the role.
If you are a candidate, take our survey here. Or you can ask a candidate to take the survey by sharing the link with them.
Submit endorsements
Endorsements can be particularly helpful for voters trying to decide between candidates in local races, which often feature nonpartisan candidates. Endorsements from individuals and organizations can help voters better understand policy differences between candidates in these cases where little or no other news coverage of policy stances exists.
Candidates, share endorsements here. Readers, share endorsements you know about here.
About the city
- See also: Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio. As of 2020, its population was 309,317.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government and Council-manager government
The city government of Cincinnati blends elements of the strong-mayor and council-manager systems. While the mayor serves as the city's chief executive officer and the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body, a city-manager, whom the mayor appoints and the city council approves, serves as the city's chief administrative officer.[4]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Cincinnati, Ohio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | Ohio | |
| Population | 309,317 | 11,799,448 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 77 | 40,858 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 50.3% | 80.5% |
| Black/African American | 41.4% | 12.4% |
| Asian | 2.2% | 2.3% |
| Native American | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0% |
| Other (single race) | 1.4% | 1.1% |
| Multiple | 4.6% | 3.6% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 4.2% | 3.9% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 88.4% | 90.8% |
| College graduation rate | 38.7% | 28.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $42,663 | $58,116 |
| Persons below poverty level | 24.3% | 13.6% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
See also
| Cincinnati, Ohio | Ohio | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ KETV, "John Ewing Jr.'s historic inauguration as Omaha's mayor," June 10, 2025
- ↑ Garland, Texas, "Dylan Hedrick Returns to City Hall as Garland's 38th Mayor," June 18, 2025
- ↑ New York Times, "Miami Elects First Democratic Mayor in Nearly 30 Years," December 9, 2025
- ↑ Cincinnati City Charter, Art. 2.1-3; 3.1-3; 4.1-3, accessed October 27, 2014
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