In June, democratic socialist and political newcomer India Walton stunned four-term incumbent mayor Byron Brown, capturing the mayoral nomination in Buffalo’s Democratic primary. Ever since, national media has fixated on the shifting political landscape in upstate New York, even as Brown has vowed to defeat Walton as a write-in candidate in the general election. Framing Walton’s success as part of a broader “Empire State Uprising,” pundits everywhere are eyeing the emerging “Rust Belt socialism” and asking how these upstart left campaigns are uprooting entrenched power dynamics.

While hot takes abound, actual numbers and conclusions with a firm basis in data have been harder to come by. So I got the voter files from the New York State Board of Elections to find out: who are the voters that led India Walton to a win in Buffalo’s Democratic mayoral primary?

There’s a simple answer: renters.