Categories
PostNews

UB professors share analysis on Buffalo mayor race

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — India Walton’s association with the Socialist defund the police movement hurt her chances even before election day. That’s according to an analysis by two political science professors from the University At Buffalo.

Professors Shawn Donahue and Jacob Nieheisel say it’s possible Walton’s tremendous downstate support backfired for voters in one of the most historic races in Buffalo history.

Both men also say Walton’s inexperience led to several public missteps, including having her car towed because of unpaid parking tickets, and threats of removing members of the Buffalo Common Council from power.

They say both ended up invigorating support for Byron Brown.

There was also the question about whether Walton’s win in the primary and fierce battle in the months that followed was a wake-up call to more moderate Democrats, as she’s now suggesting.

Nieheisel doesn’t believe that’s the case, saying candidates and campaigns matter to voters. And that includes reaching across the political aisle for support.

“I think that Mayor Brown realized that he was not running a Democratic primary. He was running in the general electorate, and he wanted to appeal to as many people as possible. And on the other side, it didn’t seem like India Walton was really reaching out and trying to expand her base,” Donahue said.

Despite calls by Walton that Brown’s campaign was successful because of GOP support. Democrats in the Queen City outnumber Republicans by more than 90,000 voters.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *