Buffalo’s mayoral race appears to have swung toward the write-in incumbent, but the count will take time.

Elections|Buffalo’s mayoral contention appears to person swung toward the write-in incumbent, but the number volition instrumentality time.

BUFFALO, N.Y. —Mayor Byron W. Brown of Buffalo, an incumbent four-term Democrat, declared triumph connected Tuesday nighttime successful his write-in run to decision his ain party’s authoritative nominee, India Walton. But Ms. Walton, a antiauthoritarian socialist, refused to concede.

The governmental oddity of a potent write-in run and a conflict pitting moderates versus progressives wrong the Democratic Party turned this city’s usually lackluster mayoral contention into 1 of the astir intimately watched contests successful the nation. A triumph for Mr. Brown — the city’s archetypal Black politician and a lifelong Democratic centrist — would beryllium a stinging rebuke for the progressive helping of his party, which had celebrated Ms. Walton’s improbable superior triumph successful June.

The results reported aboriginal connected Wednesday by the Erie County Board of Elections underscored the Democrats’ ideological schism. With all precincts reporting, conscionable implicit 41 percent of votes were for Ms. Walton and 58.3 percent were marked for “write-in,” oregon 23,986 to 34,273.

There is astatine slightest 1 different write-in campaigner who has actively campaigned: Benjamin Carlisle, a erstwhile Democrat. Ballots marked “write-in” volition person to beryllium checked individually to spot which campaigner — Mr. Brown, Mr. Carlisle, oregon others — is indicated. And absentee ballots volition not beryllium tallied until mid-November.

Ms. Walton, who had earned the endorsements of immoderate of the nation’s best-known progressives, said connected Tuesday nighttime that “every ballot needs to beryllium counted” and railed against the Brown campaign, which did not cull enactment from Republicans, a tiny cohort successful this heavy Democratic city.

“Right present it’s ‘Walton’ against ‘Write In,’ whoever that is,” she said. “Who Write-In is remains to beryllium seen.”

Still, the results boosted the hopes and temper of Mr. Brown, who mislaid to Ms. Walton successful a Democratic superior successful June, aft moving a lackluster campaign.

“They said it was intolerable to triumph arsenic a write-in, but you tin ne'er number a Buffalonian out,” said Mr. Brown to a raucous assemblage astatine a downtown lawsuit connected Tuesday night, adding helium would find a mode to convey each his voters “over the adjacent 4 years.”

“This hasn’t been easy,” helium said. “But it’s been worthy it.”