The atmosphere was frenetic and jubilant at Senator Sean Ryan’s election headquarters in downtown Buffalo on primary election night as it became clear he’d won.
Ryan took to the stage around 11 p.m. to declare his victory.
“Holy cow, this is incredible!" Ryan said.
He thanked supporters and addressed those who did not vote for him, hoping for a “united Buffalo.”
Ryan, who was endorsed by 22 labor unions, put his victory largely down to their support. Speaking exclusively to BTPM NPR after his speech, he explained how organized labor played such a big part in his campaign.
"Buffalo is a city of high union density, so there's thousands of union members living here, and they all came together under the Central Labor Council and reached out and said, 'Sean Ryan's our guy. If you're a union member, we support Sean Ryan.' And boy, did labor come out tonight."
As state senator for the 61st District, Ryan already had a foothold in some Buffalo neighborhoods, but not the East Side. Senator April Baskin told the crowd how he got to know voters in the area.
"It started out when we began visiting churches a couple of months ago, like an awkward white guy from Lackawanna that only went to Catholic Church. Today, he is a Baptist preacher," she joked.
Though there were five candidates in the race, the majority of the public mud-slinging happened between Ryan and Buffalo Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon’s campaign. But after Scanlon called him on election night to concede, Ryan took a distinctly tempered tone.
"I have tremendous respect for Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon," he said. "Politics is a rough business, and there could only be one winner, so it's a tough night for every other candidate out there, but each and every one of them did a great job. But I do have a lot of respect for the acting mayor for giving me the call tonight."
But the celebrations will be short and sweet for the Ryan campaign. With five candidates in the running in November’s general election, including Republican James Gardner, Ryan said the campaign continues.
"We got a lot of work to do before November, because it ain't over, that's for sure."
