And for Bowman, running for mayor might not be as important as another ambition he seems to have. His critics in Cincinnati say he appears to be more interested in using his mayoral run, enhanced by his brother’s reflected glow, to build a national profile than in actually running the city. “You know the phrase impulse shopping? This is impulse campaigning,” University of Cincinnati political scientist David Niven told me. “I think Cory Bowman came to the conclusion he wanted to run for something, and he picked literally the first thing that he saw. As a Republican in Ohio, if he’d run for almost anything else, he’d be a potent candidate, but not as a mayor of Cincinnati. I do think this could be another win by losing scenario.”