‘Write-in’ leading race for Buffalo mayor as Brown deciares victory

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WHEC/WGRZ)— The race for mayor in the city of Buffalo took a turn, with the man still holding the position declaring victory after initially losing in the primary election.

According to WGRZ, as of Wednesday afternoon, a "write-in" campaign is holding an 18 percentage point lead over candidate India Walton.

Back in June, Walton beat incumbent Byron Brown in the Democratic primary, with hopes of becoming the first Democratic Socialist mayor in decades to lead a major city in the United States. However, Brown started a write-in campaign and is riding a wave of support. He declared victory Tuesday night.

While "write-in" has a strong lead against Walton, with most votes in, the results do not show who received the early write-in votes. Brown would serve a fifth term

WGRZ reports more than 19,000 absentee ballots have been sent out with approximately 11,000 returned. The ballots will be counted next week.