Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi sees the Buffalo mayor's race as a fight for the future of where the Democratic Party is heading in New York, and potentially across the country. 

And he's worried the campaign could hurt the party with a core group of voters who helped elect Joe Biden to the presidency and, likely, Eric Adams to City Hall. 

"There are a lot of Black and brown people who do not want to defund the police," Suozzi said in an interview Wednesday. "There are a lot of Black and brown people who want the economy to work for people. There's a lot of Black and brown people who do not want to dismantle capitalism and give everything away for free. So this is about the soul of the Democratic Party going forward."

Suozzi has gone all in backing incumbent Mayor Byron Brown, a four-term incumbent who lost an upset primary to India Walton in June. Walton, a Democratic socialist, has drawn support from the progressive Working Families Party and the backing of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

But Suozzi, who is considered a potential candidate for governor next year, believes the policies and messaging from Walton and her supporters won't help with a broader electorate.  

"Quite frankly, I believe the ultra-left message is a losing message in the general election for Democrats in Buffalo, in New York state and throughout the country," Suozzi said. 

• SEE ALSO | Buffalo mayoral candidates discuss policing and poverty

Walton's supporters, including the WFP's Sochie Nnaemeka, believe the race has received attention in part because of Walton's unlikely candidacy. And that resonates with working-class voters. 

"I think that story of the underdog versus the corporate candidate definitely speaks to working class voters who are looking for candidates who represents us and are fighting against the system in some ways," she said.

The progressive organization early on backed Walton in the primary, providing a boost in campaign infrastructure against Brown, a former statewide Democratic Party leader. 

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but it should not be an anomaly that voters get to to choose someone like India Walton to run their city," Nnaemeka said. 

It's a race with many variables: For starters, Brown is running a write-in bid after the failed primary. The race is also taking against the backdrop of an ongoing strike by nurses at Mercy Hospital in the city, potentially energizing union activists. 

And, earlier this month, state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs was rebuked for making a clumsy analogy to former KKK leader David Duke when asked why he was yet to endorse Walton.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, a popular figure in western New York and the first Buffalo resident to serve as governor in a century, has largely stayed out of the race. 

But are Buffalo voters thinking about the future of Democratic Party politics? That's unlikely, said political analyst Jack O'Donnell.  

"I think most people in Buffalo are really sitting here making that decision is based on what direction I want the city to go in and who best represents that direction," he said. 

But O'Donnell also expects the campaign is a sign the statewide races in New York could be similarly heated.  

"There's going to be a lot of fire, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of anger," he said. "But whether the ideological breakdown here is really transferrable to what that race looks like is really hard to extrapolate."