Benjamin Carlisle

Benjamin Carlisle (Democratic Party) ran for election to the New York State Senate to represent District 61. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 23, 2022.

2021 battleground election

See also: Mayoral election in Buffalo, New York (2021)

Byron Brown (D) defeated India Walton (D) in the general election for mayor of Buffalo, New York, on November 2, 2021. Brown, who ran as a write-in candidate in the general election, received 59.6% of the vote to Walton's 40%.

Walton defeated Brown in the June 22 Democratic primary 51% to 46%.^[1]^[2]^[3] Following his primary defeat, Brown announced he would run in the general election as a write-in candidate.^[4]

Brown was first elected mayor of Buffalo in 2005 and won re-election three times before the 2021 election. Before losing the 2021 primary, he had won the four preceding Democratic mayoral primaries by an average margin of 26.5 percentage points.^[5]

Prior to the election, The New York Times' Jesse McKinley said the mayoral race "reflects the defining tension within the national Democratic Party, pitting its new generation of left-wing politicians against its more moderate establishment," referring to Walton and Brown, respectively.^[6]

Walton, a nurse and community activist, said Brown had not delivered results as mayor and his record "showed that he doesn't have much care ... for the people of Buffalo, unless they're wealthy developers or heads of large corporations."^[7] She received endorsements from U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the local and national branches of the Democratic Socialists of America, and the Working Families Party of New York.^[8]^[9]^[10] She also received a general election endorsement from the Erie County Democratic Party, which endorsed Brown in the primary but switched its support to Walton following her primary election victory.^[11]

Brown, who became the city's longest-serving mayor in January 2021, said Walton was "an unqualified, inexperienced, radical socialist," and described the general election as "a choice between proven results and false, empty promises."^[12]^[13] He received general election endorsements from U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Common Councilmembers Joseph Golombek (D), Christopher Scanlon (D), and Ulysees Wingo (D), and former Mayor Anthony Masiello (D).^[14]^[15]^[16] He also received endorsements from The Buffalo News and the local, county, and state police benevolent associations.^[17]^[18]^[19]

Both Walton and Brown also received support from satellite organizations. The Working Families Party’s national PAC supported Walton with satellite spending, while the New York State Association of Realtors and the New York Republican Party supported Brown.^[20]^[21]^[22]

Sean "Jaz" Miles (R), Benjamin Carlisle (I), William O’Dell (I), and Taniqua Simmons (I) also ran in the general election as write-in candidates.

Elections

2022

General election

General election for New York State Senate District 61

Incumbent Sean Ryan defeated incumbent Edward Rath III in the general election for New York State Senate District 61 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Sean Ryan (D / Working Families Party)	56.7	63,901
	Edward Rath III (R / Conservative Party)	43.3	48,805
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	90

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 112,796
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New York State Senate District 61

Incumbent Sean Ryan defeated Benjamin Carlisle in the Democratic primary for New York State Senate District 61 on August 23, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sean Ryan	86.1	11,448
	Submit photo	Benjamin Carlisle	13.5	1,790
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	51

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,289
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Ryan Rooney (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New York State Senate District 61

Incumbent Edward Rath III defeated Joel Giambra (Unofficially withdrew) in the Republican primary for New York State Senate District 61 on August 23, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Edward Rath III	78.0	3,712
	Submit photo	Joel Giambra (Unofficially withdrew)	20.9	994
		Other/Write-in votes	1.1	54

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,760
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Joseph Totaro (R)

Conservative Party primary election

The Conservative Party primary election was canceled. Incumbent Edward Rath III advanced from the Conservative Party primary for New York State Senate District 61.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Joel Giambra (Conservative Party) (Unofficially withdrew)

Working Families Party primary election

The Working Families Party primary election was canceled. Incumbent Sean Ryan advanced from the Working Families Party primary for New York State Senate District 61.