Socialist stuns with upsetting defeat of 4-term Buffalo mayor

A stand-out Democratic mayoral candidate in Buffalo, N.Y., has pulled off a stunning defeat against Byron Brown, the city's four-term mayor. According to WIVB-4, India Walton — a nurse and activist — has unofficially defeated Brown with a vote count of 11,132 - 9,625.

On Tuesday, evening, Walton delivered a powerful speech as she stood among a crowd of her fierce supporters. "This is the work of a well-meaning group of rebels and revolutionaries that had a bold vision on what we want the future of our city to look like," Walton said.

"We set out to not only change Buffalo but to change the way processive politics are viewed in Upstate New York," she added. "From the very start, I said, this is not about making India Walton the mayor of Buffalo. This is about building the infrastructure to challenge every damn seat — I'm talking about committee seats, school board, common council."

While the current vote count projects an election win in Walton's favor, Brown on Tuesday insisted that he would not concede — yet. The publication reports that Brown wants to wait until all votes are counted. So far, all precincts have reported but absentee ballots are still being counted. Even with that result pending, Chris Horvatits noted that tentative early and absentee vote count already suggest how the election will end.

"ALL early votes and Primary Day votes are in," Horvatits tweeted. "India Walton leads Byron Brown by 1,507 votes. 1,536 absentees (and possibly more) will be counted. But India Walton is on track to be the first female mayor in Buffalo history."

The tentative vote count already suggests Walton will make history as the first female mayor of Buffalo, N.Y.