Socialist mayoral candidate projected to lose to write-in Democratic incumbent in Buffalo

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published 3 November 2021

India Walton, the Democratic nominee for mayor of Buffalo, New York, was the only mayoral candidate on Tuesday's ballot — and she appears to have lost. With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Walton had just 40.9 percent of the votes, while the other 59.04 percent were write-ins, presumably for Mayor Byron Brown, the four-term Democratic incumbent she defeated in a June primary election upset.

Brown, 63, claimed victory Tuesday night. "We couldn't have done this without you," he told supporters. "This has been a remarkable journey that we've been on together for the past four and a half months." Walton did not concede, but she said she "knew this was going to be an uphill battle" and acknowledged that the numbers aren't on her side.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.