Cincinnati Keeps Aftab Pureval! Dayton Ousts Jeff Mims!

Progressive challenger defeats centrist. Dayton, Ohio picks Shenise Turner-Sloss over incumbent Jeff Mims.

Democrats prevail in New York City, Virginia, New Jersey, California, Georgia and even in Ohio. The civil war between the progressive and centrist wing of the Democratic Party is an ongoing issue.

Progressives are mounting an aggressive campaign to purge the Democratic Party of ineffective, corporatist, conservative and Zionist Democrats. The 2026 Midterms will be a test of how far the progressive base will go to push the party back to the movement they claimed to backed so many years prior.

Aftab Pureval, mayor of Cincinnati defeats the half-brother of Vice President JD Vance, Cory Bowman.

Jeffrey Mims, Jr., mayor of Dayton is defeated by Shenise Turner-Sloss, a progressive Dayton commissioner.

Cincinnati, Ohio has a population of 315,000 residents. It has increased slightly these past decades. At one time, Cincinnati was on the decline but a major turnaround and unfortunately gentrification led to its rebound.

Dayton, Ohio has a population of 132,000 residents. It has significantly decreased these past decades. At one time, Dayton was a booming industrial community. All of its major corporations have moved out, crime has increased and blight has dominated the city.

Pureval, the first Indian-American to be mayor of the city faced off against James David Bowman's (Vance) brother, Cory. 

This race wasn't as big as the race between mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and former New York governor Andrew Cuomo but it was closely watched. 

Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance live in the neighborhood of East Walnut Hills.

Bowman was hoping to cash in on his half-brother and President Donald J. Trump's honeymoon period. At one time, Trump had a job approval of 47%. This was the highest job approval (despite being underwater) for the president.

Issues that drove voters out should be the most important. 

1. The government shutdown.

2. Economic uncertainty.

3. Affordability.

4. Israel.

5. Political violence.

6. President Donald J. Trump being tone deaf.

Bowman was running on divisive issues like crime, taxes, gang violence, graffiti and business owners leaving Cincinnati. He even went as far to use Rodney Hinton, Jr. and the racist couple being knocked out during a riot near Over the Rhine.

Cory Bowman was banking on his high profile brother. He was washed by Aftab Pureval.

Hinton, a distraught Cincinnati father intentionally rammed his vehicle into a Hamilton County sheriff deputy constable directing traffic hours after he watched the video of a Cincinnati Police officer shoot his son after he fled a stolen vehicle. Ryan Hinton was inside a stolen Kia and was apparently armed. As Hinton fled his vehicle, the officer spotted a firearm and immediately shot him. The officer was cleared of the shooting.

Hinton blamed the Cincinnati Police and the systematic racism. He took an eye for an eye. He is facing capital murder. He is currently in Clermont County lockup on suicide watch. The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Teresa Theetge, the embattled Cincinnati Police chief was placed on leave after the city deemed her ineffective in solving the problems. Cincinnati also launched a drone campaign with Skydio. That company worked with Israel in the aftermath of the resistance of October 7th. 

Cincinnati has a growth rebound which helped Pureval succeed in trouncing Bowman.

It was a landslide in a nonpartisan race. Pureval beaten Bowman 82% to 18%. 

Cincinnati's Police Union supported Bowman and voted no confidence to Pureval.

Mims on the other hand lost.

Jeff Mims was tone deaf to Dayton. They voted him out.

Mayor-elect Turner-Sloss ran on ending gridlock and investing in Dayton. She often feuded with Mims on spending and policies. The mayor-elect was supportive of a hospital being built in the West Dayton area after the devastating loss of Good Samaritan Hospital in 2018. That happened in Trump’s first term. 

Mims couldn't control the gun violence. His traffic calming measures also were a bad idea.

Mims lost to Turner-Sloss by 48% to 52%.

Turner-Sloss campaigned for reform of police response to mental health calls and investing in the neighborhoods around downtown, as well as putting money into the downtown engine. She also wants to promote better reception to the community’s calls for help.

Mims is now Dayton’s second mayor since 1992 to go for one term.

The Montgomery County Board of Elections says some absentee and provisional ballots still need to be counted, meaning the race won’t be certified immediately.

Gary Litezell, the former mayor of Dayton was the most recent one term before Mims. 

Litezell defeated two term mayor Rhine McLin on the very same platforms that Mims championed. He ran as an independent but was endorsed by Republicans since they had no formal challenger.

Litezell was defeated by Democrat Nan Whaley who went on to serve two terms before she became a sacrificial goat in the 2022 Ohio gubernatorial race. Whaley lost to her former friend the incumbent governor Mike DeWine.