BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Albany County District Attorney David Soares won't be on the ballot in November but the incumbent has high hopes anyway.

"The party bosses have written me off but the people of Albany County are going to write me in," he said.

Soares made the announcement three weeks after losing a Democratic primary to Lee Kindlon. Democratic political analyst Jack O'Donnell of O'Donnell & Associates said write-in campaigns are unusual.

"The bigger the audience, the bigger the electorate, the more rare it is," he said.

However, Soares can look west to Buffalo where similarly, long-time incumbent Mayor Byron Brown lost a primary in 2021 then staged a successful write-in campaign.

"I think what Byron Brown did inspired some other people and helped David Soares think maybe I have a chance to do this," O'Donnell said.

Soares believes he's a candidate voters from all ends of the political spectrum can rally around as he plans to focus on his philosophical opposition to state laws that limit prosecution for minors and judicial discretion with regards to detainment and bail.

"I'm a loyal faithful Democrat but my party decided to impose the most reckless, I call it legislative malpractice, public safety laws that have endangered the Black and brown community more  so than any community," he said.

O'Donnell said there are a number of circumstantial differences with regards to the Buffalo and Albany County races, chief among them the number of candidates. He said the moderate Brown easily contrasted himself to avowed Democratic socialist India Walton.

Soares may be using the same playbook but in this case has a Republican candidate, Ralph Ambrosio, to his political right.

"I think a lot of those folks are just going to revert to the person on their line. That's what we see a lot in politics these days. Party affiliation, where you're coming from, has been stronger with prime voters in a lot of ways than it's ever been," he said.

O'Donnell said Soares' success may come down to how much money he raises and educating voters about how write-in campaigns work — two areas in which he said Brown did well. The anlayst pointed out while top Albany Democrats have expressed opposition to the Soares campaign, Brown had strong support from a number of sitting Common Council members.