Erie County Democrats select Leah Halton-Pope for 141st Assembly District race

Halton-Pope currently represents the Ellicott District and previously served in longtime Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes’ office.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope will officially be the Democratic candidate for the 141st Assembly District in November.

The Erie County Democratic Committee on Sunday announced that Halton-Pope has been selected to fill the vacancy on the ballot. She will replace longtime Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, who last week announced her retirement. 

Halton-Pope currently represents the Ellicott District and previously served in Peoples-Stokes’ office.

“I have said that Crystal Peoples-Stokes is both a great leader and true institution who never put politics before the interests of the people,” Halton-Pope said in a statement issued Sunday evening. “Working in her office was a rare privilege that provided the foundation for what I have achieved on the Common Council and what I hope to accomplish for the 141st Assembly District. 

“I am grateful to the committee and to the party for their support, and honored and humbled by their faith in me.”

RELATED: Decision by Peoples-Stokes triggers party vacancy selection process

Peoples-Stokes was first elected to the NYS Assembly in 2003, and was named Majority Leader in 2018. Prior to her election to the Assembly, Peoples-Stokes served as an Erie County Legislator between 1993 and 2002. 

Erie County Democratic Committee chair and and New York State Senator Jeremy Zellner said Halton-Pope was the right person for the seat.

A new Democratic nominee had to be selected by the party’s vacancy committee by April 14, the last day to file authorization of substitution after a candidate declines, according to the New York State Board of Elections 2026 Political Calendar.