Poll: AOC-Backed Buffalo Mayoral Candidate Trails by 17 Points

The Buffalo mayoral candidate supported by progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., trails her opponent by 17 points, according to a new poll.

India Walton trails Mayor Byron Brown, a write-in candidate, 53.8% to 36.2% in the latest WIVB/Emerson College poll released Tuesday.

Brown, seeking an unprecedented fifth term, lost to Walton by little more than 1,000 votes in June’s Democrat primary. He has expanded his lead from 10 points in an August poll to 17 points.

The latest poll found that 6.2% of respondents said they were undecided and 3.8% said they would vote for someone else.

When asking voters who they planned to vote for, the WIVB/Emerson College survey presented Walton's name, an undecided option, and an option for "someone else." Those who responded "someone else" were required to provide Brown's name.

Walton, who led a small housing trust before launching her campaign, will be the only candidate listed on the ballot in Tuesday’s election. AOC stumped for the fellow Democrat socialist last weekend.

"Considering only 6% of voters are currently undecided right now, Byron Brown has a pretty significant lead in the race that may not be able to be overcome by India Walton," Emerson College Polling analyst Isabel Holloway told WIVB.

"Even when we asked those undecided voters who they are leaning towards at this time, they break over 2-to-1 toward someone else rather than India Walton."

WIVB reported that 51.5% of those surveyed said their opinion of Walton had worsened since the primary, compared to 29.7% who said it improved and 18.8% who said it stayed the same.

Brown was leading 49.5% to 40.8% among Democrats in the general election. More than 80% of Republicans say they’re voting for the mayor.

"Considering that Walton won the Democratic primary, one would expect her to be winning among registered Democrats in the general election," Holloway told WIVB.

"However, we found that that is not true. In fact, Byron Brown is leading among registered Democrats. This suggests that Democrats tuned in after the primary election and maybe did not turn out for Byron Brown in the primary but are choosing to do so in the general."

Both Brown and Walton are Black. The latest poll found that Walton led among Black voters 53% to 36.6%.

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