Democrats will continue to hold all nine seats of Cincinnati City Council after sweeping a second election in a row, with 100% of precincts reporting.
That means all eight incumbents who were on the ballot won re-election, plus newcomer Ryan James.
"I just want to thank the people of Cincinnati," said Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, once again the top vote-getter. "They have faith in us. They expect us to keep working and keep the change going, and we will."
Twenty-six candidates were on the ballot, plus a certified write-in candidate. The closest non-Democrat was Liz Keating, ranking 10th with about 9,000 votes fewer than ninth-place James. Keating is the most recent Republican to serve on Council. She ran for re-election in 2021, but didn't make it back to City Hall.
See the full rankings below of unofficial election night vote tallies:
- Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney — 43,971 votes
- Scotty Johnson — 40,781 votes
- Meeka Owens — 39,826 votes
- Anna Albi — 39,028 votes
- Mark Jeffreys — 38,380 votes
- Seth Walsh — 35,176 votes
- Evan Nolan — 34,790 votes
- Jeff Cramerding — 34,870 votes
- Ryan James — 33,689 votes
Four former council members fell short of enough votes to make it back. Keating ranked 10th with 24,526 votes; Independent Christopher Smitherman ranked 11th with 17,485 votes; Charter Committee-endorsed Laketa Cole (also a Democrat) ranked 12th with 15,267 votes; and Charter Committee-endorsed Steve Goodin (also a Republican) ranked 16th with 9,690 votes.
Candidates endorsed by the Republicans and the Charter Committee have been very critical of the incumbents, and it seemed likely the Democrats could lose one or two seats over controversial issues like public safety and zoning reform. That vocal criticism did not pan out at the polls.
"The fear mongering didn't work," Anna Albi said. "Our voters saw through it — we are delivering results."
Mayor Aftab Pureval also easily won re-election against Republican challenger Cory Bowman.
Alex Linser, chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, says the decisive victory means the city is headed in the right direction.
"The party's coalition is strong," Linser told WVXU. "Our voters held strong with our nine candidates, and up and down the ballot, they sent Democrats into office. I think this shows that the Democratic Party is back ... and I think it's the beginning of a new era here in Hamilton County."
This post has been updated.
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