Buffalo Mayor Brown Beats Democratic Socialist India Walton In Write-In Campaign

Byron Brown, the incumbent four-term Democratic mayor of Buffalo, managed to beat self-proclaimed democratic socialist India Walton on Tuesday in his write-in election campaign.

Back in June, Brown lost to Walton in the Democratic primary before launching a write-in campaign.  He declared victory earlier this week after local media reported that Walton had won 41% of the vote while nearly 59% of the votes were for “write-in,” according to the Erie County Board of Elections.

Brown said that his race was more than just a “referendum on the future of the city of Buffalo.”

“It was a referendum on the future of our democracy,” Brown said, according to The New York Post. “At the very beginning they said we couldn’t win, they said it was impossible to win … You can never count a Buffalonian out.”

Brown went on to assure his supporters that he would find a way to thank all his voters “over the next four years,” according to The New York Times.

Long Island Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who endorsed Brown, described his victory as a “clear triumph of core Democratic values over the far-left socialist agenda.”

“Voters know that pragmatism, solving problems and actually getting things done is what makes government work better,” Suozzi said.

Walton, however, has yet to concede, saying on Twitter that, “When all the votes are counted, if we’re still down, *then* we’ll concede. Until then, relax.”

Walton had previously released a statement saying that, “tens of thousands of write-in and absentee ballots have yet to be tabulated, and we believe that democracy requires that every vote be counted, and that any improprieties that occurred be brought to light.”

“It seems unlikely that we will end up with enough votes to inaugurate a Walton administration in January,” she added.

Walton is a candidate who has received endorsements from the likes of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, as well as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). She has accused Brown of betraying the Democratic Party and “colluding with Republicans” and wealthy donors in an effort to secure votes.

“Buffalo is a Democratic city,” Walton said on Tuesday night. “And what we have seen is my opponent actively cooperating and colluding with Republicans and dark money to defeat a person who was going to be a champion for the little guy.”

Brown is the first African-American mayor of New York state’s second-largest city since 2005.