Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown declares victory over India Walton in contentious race

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown appeared to win a fifth term Tuesday after lodging a robust write-in effort against India Walton, a trained nurse and activist whose socialist beliefs became a central issue in the race.

Brown, a Democrat who first took office in 2006, resorted to a write-in campaign after losing a June primary to Walton, a Democrat making her first run for office.

The effort, initially thought to be a longshot, appeared to be successful, though it won't be official until the write-in votes are verified and mail-in ballots are counted.

Write-in candidates received 33,994 votes — about 59% of the total — with 98% of election districts reporting late Tuesday, according to the Erie County Board of Elections.

Walton, who appeared on the Democratic ballot line, received 23,647 votes.

The vast majority of those write-in votes are expected to go to Brown, whose campaign distributed thousands of rubber stamps to voters to make writing his name in easier.

Brown had declared victory by 11 p.m. Tuesday, about two hours after polls closed.

"At the very beginning, they said we couldn't win, it was impossible to win as a write in," Brown said in his victory speech. "But you know, you can't ever count a Buffalonian out."

Brown weaponized Walton's socialism embrace

Walton's primary victory received national headlines because of her embrace of democratic socialism. At the time, she appeared poised to become the most prominent socialist in executive office in the country, in part because Brown did not have a ballot line to carry in the general election.

She drew endorsements from several high-profile names among the progressive left, including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

But Brown — a former chairman of the state Democratic Party — declined to concede, instead launching a broad write-in campaign that repeatedly highlighted Walton's support for socialism and drew support from prominent developers and groups that have traditionally supported Republican candidates.

Walton countered by highlighting the Brown campaign's Republican ties, which included political mailers from the state Republican Party attacking her candidacy in the campaign's final weeks.

She declined to concede to Brown late Tuesday, noting the write-in votes will have to be tabulated before knowing how the election went. "This is definitely not a concession speech," she said.

"Buffalo is a Democratic city," Walton said. "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."

By Wednesday, Walton appeared resigned to likely defeat, issuing a statement saying it "seems unlikely we will end up with enough votes."

"We fought as hard as we possibly could," she said. "We left everything on the field. And I believe today, as fervently as I ever have, that the hour will come when we will finally draw down power to the everyday people of this city, and build the safe, healthy Buffalo we all need and deserve."

More: Buffalo's India Walton is making history. It's not just because she's a socialist.

Jon Campbell is the New York State Team editor for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at JCAMPBELL1@Gannett.com or on Twitter at @JonCampbellGAN.

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This article originally appeared on New York State Team: Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown declares victory over India Walton as a write in