Socialist candidate India Walton conceded the mayoral race in Buffalo, New York, to incumbent Mayor Byron Brown, who ran a write-in campaign to remain in office.
In a statement on Twitter on Wednesday, Walton wrote, “While we anticipate that the margins will narrow, it seems unlikely that we will end up with enough votes to inaugurate a Walton administration in January.”
My statement on last night’s election results, threaded below for accessibility. pic.twitter.com/4FNeBxHSkE
— India Walton For Buffalo (@Indiawaltonbflo) November 3, 2021
Brown declared victory Tuesday evening as Walton trailed in write-in ballots with results still rolling in. Write-in ballots will be hand-counted to confirm a final tally.
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Walton defeated Brown in the Democratic primary earlier this year and seemed likely to win office, as Buffalo has not elected a Republican mayor since the 1960s. But Brown, longtime mayor of the city and former chairman of the state’s Democratic Party, ran as a write-in candidate, asking voters to “Write Down Byron Brown.”
The race was viewed as an example of divisions playing out across the Democratic Party between centrists and liberals, as seen in recent weeks in Congress where Democratic lawmakers have yet to come to an agreement between their Left flank and centrist members on a social spending package that makes up much of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda.
Walton was backed by prominent liberals, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But the New York’s state Democratic Party party leadership, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Jay Jacobs, chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, did not endorse Walton.
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Brown appears to have earned the support of some conservative voters who objected to Walton’s socialist agenda. The state’s Republican Party congratulated Brown on his victory Tuesday.
