ST. CLAIRSVILLE — As local voters head to the polls to cast their ballots in Ohio Issue 2 and a few property tax issues, Cincinnati’s mayor faces a primary challenge Tuesday from two first-time candidates, including the half brother of Vice President JD Vance.

Meanwhile, voters across the state will decide the fate of a 10-year, $2.5 billion infrastructure spending ballot measure.

The notable contests top the list of races on the ballot in Ohio’s off-year municipal primaries.

In Cincinnati, the state’s third largest city, Mayor Aftab Pureval seeks a second term. Pureval, a Democrat, had been running unopposed for reelection in the Democratic stronghold until Republicans Cory Bowman and Brian Frank entered the race earlier in the year. Bowman, who shares a father with Vance, is an evangelical pastor and cafe owner. Frank is a procurement specialist. The mayor’s office is a nonpartisan position, so all candidates compete on the same ballot in the primary, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the November general election.

Cincinnati is located in Hamilton County, which Democrat Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 presidential election with about 57% of the vote. Republican Donald Trump received 42% of the Hamilton vote but won Ohio with 55% of the statewide vote. The city’s Democratic bent should benefit Pureval in a primary contest with no other Democrats on the ballot.

Pureval placed first in the 2021 primary with 39% of the vote in a six-person field. He won the general election with about 66% of the vote over fellow Democrat David Mann, a former mayor and U.S. representative.

On the statewide ballot, the proposed constitutional amendment known as Issue 2 would authorize the state to issue bonds to finance local infrastructure initiatives dealing with roads, bridges, water systems, waste disposal and other projects. Near-unanimous bipartisan majorities in the state Senate and House voted in December to put the measure before voters in Tuesday’s special election, although one Republican state senator and four Republican state representatives opposed the measure.

If it passes, Issue 2 would continue a funding program that was first enacted in 1987 with support from about 71% of voters. It was renewed in 1995 with about 62% in favor, then again in 2005 with 54% and most recently in 2014 with 65%.

Turnout tends to be relatively low in off-year Ohio elections. A recent exception was in 2023, when a pair of ballot measures motivated voters on both sides of the abortion debate to head to the polls. This year’s infrastructure bond proposal has a much lower profile than the two 2023 measures.

Another complicating factor comes from an unlikely source — the state’s two National Football League franchises. Tuesday’s infrastructure bond vote has nothing to do with the ongoing debate among state and local officials over stadium funding for the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals. But voters unfamiliar with the details of Issue 2 could potentially conflate the two matters at the ballot box.

Belmont County Board of Elections Deputy Director Kamron Chervenak said early in-person voting began April 8 and will continue through Sunday, May 4. Early ballots can be cast at board of elections offices or mailed to the appropriate county board.

The remaining early in-person voting hours are:

Saturday, May 3 – 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday, May 4 – 1-5 p.m.

Polling locations across the state will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, which is Election Day.

In addition to Issue 2, two villages and two townships within Belmont County will have tax levies to decide.

The village of Belmont is seeking an additional 1.5-mill, continuing property tax for for expenses related to cemetery maintenance and upkeep.

The village of Flushing is asking voters to renew a 5-mill property tax renewal for five years for providing and maintaining fire apparatus, ambulance equipment or other emergency medical services.

Kirkwood Township has an additional 1-mill, five-years levy on the ballot for maintaining and operating cemeteries.

Wheeling Township has proposed an additional 0.75-mill, five-year property tax for current expenses.

Both Monroe and Harrison counties only have Issue 2 on their ballots. There are no contested races for any elected office on local ballots.