Buffalo To Become 1st US City With a Socialist Mayor Since 1960

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, India B. Walton beat Mayor Byron Brown, 52 percent to 45 percent. The Associated Press called the race late Wednesday morning.

Walton told MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin on Wednesday: “I believe we won because we organized. We have a message of care, love, and hope that is resonant with working-class Buffalo."

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Walton, 39, will become the first socialist mayor of a large American city since 1960 when Frank Zeidler left office in Milwaukee—if she wins the general election in November. Given the fact that Buffalo hasn't had a Republican mayor since 1965, her chances of winning are high.

“This victory is ours. It is the first of many,” she told a crowd of her supporters Tuesday night as election results rolled in. “If you are in an elected office right now, you are being put on notice. We are coming."

In a video recorded by The Buffalo News, Walton was seen calling her mother by phone and declaring victory, “Mommy, I won. Mommy, I’m the mayor of Buffalo. Well, not until January, but, yeah.”

Never having run for elected office, Walton had worked as a nurse and community activist in the city.

Brown, 62, did not concede Tuesday night, saying the race was too close to call. He has been Buffalo’s mayor since 2006 and previously was chair of the New York Democratic Party as well a member of the state Legislature.

The Buffalo News stated Brown is weighing a write-in campaign against Walton, and there is no Republican candidate in the race.

If elected in the fall, Walton told MSNBC, her "priority is putting resources in neighborhoods and really tackling the issue of poverty. Buffalo is the third poorest city of our size in the country. It is unacceptable.”