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The stunning victory positioned Walton—who was supported by the Social Democrats of America and the Working Families Party—to become the first socialist mayor of a major American city since Frank B. Zeidler of Milwaukee left office in 1960.
The victory of the 38-year-old nurse and community organizer is a major blow to the Democratic establishment in New York. Brown, a four-term mayor, is a close ally of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the former head of the New York Democratic Party.
It was also a huge victory for the Progressives who struggled to form the high-ranking New York City mayoral race.
“If you’re in elected office right now, you’re alerted. We’re coming,” Walton said at her victory ceremony Tuesday night.
With her primary win, Walton is almost certain to win the general election. Republicans have not fielded a candidate this year, and Democrats have won the race for every mayor in the city since 1965.
She will also become the first female mayor in Buffalo.
“Mom, I won! Mom, I’m the mayor of Buffalo—well, not until January, but yeah!” Walton told her mother in a Tuesday night phone call that was picked up by The Buffalo News.
When CNN reporter Brianna Keeler asked Walton earlier on Wednesday if she was surprised by the result so far, she said, “Not really.”
“We set out about a year ago to do exactly what we did,” Walton said on CNN’s “New Day.” “We knew this race was going to need help from outside our local geographic, and we knew we needed to mobilize national interest to challenge this deeply entrenched 16-year incumbent, and people talked.”
When asked how she plans to implement socialism in Buffalo, Walton said her plan is “to put our community resources into neighborhoods and govern in a deeply democratic way that the people who govern say about the decision-making process and how the resources are distributed in our community.”
Asked how this was different from previous leadership and initiatives, she said, “It’s a complete 180.”
“We’ve lived through decades of misguided theory thinking that if you build it they will come and we haven’t built any things at all for people who have stopped the economic downturn and job loss in the Buffalo community, so we’re looking forward to doing things differently and I’m really excited as we enter a new era of Progressive Leadership in Buffalo, New York”.
Walton was a mother of three with various medical problems at the age of 19, and he delved briefly into her past and how she became a nurse.
About her personal journey, and her path to mayor, she said, “Just believe that anything is possible and what you put your mind to do, and we are never alone.”
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