India Walton is again on the campaign trail, this time running for New York Lieutenant Governor.
“We shocked the world before, and we're going to do it again.”
Those words are spoken by India Walton during a YouTube video released by New York Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, in which he announces the Buffalo woman is his running mate in his bid to unseat his boss, Governor Kathy Hochul, in this year’s Democratic primary for the latter’s position.
“I'm looking for a fighter. I'm looking for somebody who's been through some difficult times, who's had to navigate power dynamics, who understands how to relate to the people, who comes from the struggle,” declares Delgado in the video’s opening line. Before introducing herself and revealing her hometown, Walton describes herself by stating, “I am a mother, I'm a nurse, I'm a leader, I'm a caregiver, I'm a thinker, I'm a doer, I'm a worker, I'm a New Yorker.”
Buffalo Toronto Public Media was attempting to arrange an interview with Walton Wednesday but had not yet secured a time to conduct it.
Walton created political shockwaves in 2021 when she upset incumbent Byron Brown in the Democratic Primary for Buffalo mayor. Leading up to the primary vote, her campaign gained the endorsement of the Buffalo Teachers Federation and the Working Families Party. She later gained the endorsements of Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and the Erie County Democratic Committee.
However, backed by an aggressive write-in campaign that played up Walton’s political affiliation as a democratic socialist, Brown won a fifth term as mayor in the general election later that year.
Walton later ran for Buffalo Common Council, seeking the Masten District seat in 2023. She was defeated in the Democratic Primary by Zeneta Everhart, who went on to win the general election that November.
Even before Delgado’s campaign confirmed Walton’s selection, local Republicans were talking about her entry into the gubernatorial race. Bob Davis, the former Erie County Republican Committee Chairman who led State Senate candidate Dan Gagliardo’s special election campaign, spoke of it Tuesday evening.
“The candidate for governor (Delgado) that's going to run against the incumbent named India Walton as his running mate for lieutenant governor,” Davis told supporters. “If that's where the Democratic Party is going, we’ve got to fight.”
Walton and Delgado will need to fight hard as well, if the latest Siena Research Institute poll is an indicator of their chances. The institute's latest poll, released Tuesday, shows the incumbent Hochul has a commanding lead over Delgado, 64 percent to 11 percent among Democratic voters, an improvement for Hochul since Siena’s December poll. Hochul also leads the endorsed Republican candidate, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, 54 percent to Blakeman’s 28 percent.
On the same day Delgado introduced Walton as his running mate, Hochul announced former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams will be hers.
