BUFFALO, N.Y. — Surrounded by a crowd of supporters Tuesday evening, India Walton reiterated that the voters chose her as the Democratic nominee for Buffalo Mayor -- and she's confident moving forward.
"We won the primary because you, with people power, and we are gonna win the general election in November the exact same way," Walton said.
This comes one day after Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown confirmed he is running as a write-in candidate, seeking a fifth term.
"We know the difference between socialism and democracy," Brown said on Monday. "We are going to fight for democracy in the City of Buffalo. The voters have said that they don't want an unqualified, inexperienced, radical socialist trying to learn on the job on the backs of the residents of this community. We will not let that happen."
During the rally on Tuesday, Walton stated, "My policies echo those of people like FDR and MLK that prioritize working class and poor people, women, and people of color, and to some people that is scary."
Walton called the write-in campaign a distraction, saying it's dragging the city into the 'dark side of politics.'
Her supporters at the rally told 2 On Your Side their campaign efforts are far from over despite the primary win.
"We're gonna continue with what we've been doing, reaching out to different people in the community, reaching out to community leaders, talking to folks and when we talk to folks, they decide that India is the right choice. Three out of five people change their minds when we actually get into conversations," said Eve Shippens, the campaign field director.
"I believe that it's time for change," said Kathryn Franco, a Walton supporter. "It's time to hand that baton over. Sixteen years has been enough time to leave a legacy and I think that his legacy is done and it's time to hand it over to India."
Walton added, "We are laser-focused on spreading our message of hope and love to voters one at a time, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood and door by door."
Brown has claimed thousands of people have urged him to run as a write-in candidate.
Tuesday night, his campaign released a partial list of what they describe as more than 1,100 supporters and growing who have recently urged him to stay in the race.
The Brown Campaign also released the following statement:
"Thousands of Buffalonians have called on Mayor Brown to continue our campaign through November to keep moving our City forward. Mayor Brown is committed to this effort, and our campaign is focused on defeating the radical socialist agenda in November."