Scanlon ends his campaign for Buffalo mayor

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Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon during a press conference in his office earlier in his term.

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Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon, who lost decisively in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, withdrew his candidacy for the November general election Friday afternoon.

Scanlon submitted paperwork to the Erie County Board of Elections to decline the nomination of the Good Neighbors Party, which he created in May. His withdrawal all but assures that state Sen. Sean Ryan, who won Tuesday’s primary in convincing fashion, will prevail in November.

Two candidates remain on the ballot in addition to Ryan, age 60, who will be running as the nominee of the Democratic and Working Families parties.

• Michael Gainer is running on the Restore Buffalo Party line he created after he failed to qualify for the Democratic primary.
• James Gardner is the Republican candidate. Last year he was soundly defeated by Michael Keane in their race for Erie County District Attorney.

Both candidates are considered longshots.

Gainer lacks campaign funds and a robust political organization. As for Gardner, Democratic voters outnumber Republicans in the city 97,000 to 15,000. Another 39,000 voters are registered to minor parties or no party at all. Buffalo last elected a Republican as mayor in 1965.

Scanlon, in a statement posted to his campaign’s Twitter account, termed his decision to withdraw as “heartbreaking.”

“I have made the incredibly difficult decision to suspend my campaign for mayor of the City of Buffalo and forgo the independent line on the ballot this November,” he wrote.

The acting mayor said he’ll serve out the remaining six months of his term.

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Read our coverage of the candidates and primary results

• Keys to Ryan’s primary victory

• Voters say they want change

• Ryan’s victory in November is inevitable

• Ryan’s political profile and stance on the issues

• Scanlon’s political profile

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Ryan, in a statement, said:

“Though we have at times disagreed about the best policies and strategies to move Buffalo forward, I know that Chris Scanlon sincerely has Buffalo’s best interests at heart.”

He entered Tuesday’s primary election as the endorsed candidate of the Erie County Democratic Committee.

“I applaud the acting mayor’s support for party unity by withdrawing his independent line,” Ryan said. “This unity will serve the Democratic Party well as we work together to ensure victory over the MAGA agenda in November. I look forward to a productive partnership with him in the months ahead.”

Scanlon, 43, was appointed to the Common Council representing the South District in 2012. He won the seat in an election later that year and subsequently ran three times unopposed. He ascended to Council president in January 2024, which put him in line to succeed Byron Brown when he resigned last October. Brown’s resignation came late enough in the political year that a special election to fill the remainder of his term wasn’t required.

In Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Ryan won 46.5 percent of the vote. Scanlon trailed with 35.3 percent. Ryan won six of the city’s nine Council districts and was considered a prohibitive favorite to win the November general election.

Three other candidates — former fire commissioner Garnell Whitfield, University Council Member Rasheed Wyatt, and political newcomer Anthony Tyson-Thompson — split the remaining 18.2 percent of the vote. None of the three have a line on the November ballot.

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