Wu, Kraft advance in Boston mayor’s race

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (D) and Josh Kraft, the son of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, advanced in the primary to the general election in the city’s mayoral race, Decision Desk HQ projects. 

The race call formally sets up the head-to-head battle between Wu, Boston’s first female mayor and first Asian American mayor, who is seeking a second term, and Kraft, a scion of the longtime Patriots owner who also formerly led the New England Patriots Foundation and the Boys & Girls Club of Boston. 

The two candidates fended off relatively minor opposition to advance from the nonpartisan blanket primary, in which the two top-performing candidates move on to compete in the general election. 

The race could become a proxy battle of sorts between the progressive Wu and the more moderate Kraft, who is also running as a Democrat. But Wu enjoys wide popularity in Boston and appears to be in a strong position to win reelection in November. 

Observers’ eyes will be on Kraft’s performance in the Tuesday primary for an indication of how much of a chance he will have against Wu. 

The results suggest a wide array of Bostonians behind the incumbent mayor, who received 72 percent of the primary vote as of the latest count. Kraft received just over 23 percent, comfortably in second place over the other challengers but well behind Wu.

Despite the deficit, Kraft vowed to continue on with the campaign, saying the election in November is the only poll that matters and that he would now chart out the path forward given the results.

Wu has focused her reelection campaign on key local issues like the cost of housing and reducing crime, but she has also received national attention for her opposition to the Trump administration’s threats against Boston and other sanctuary cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. 

“The U.S. Attorney General asked for a response by today, so here it is: stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures,” she said in a social media post last month responding to a letter that Attorney General Pam Bondi sent to “sanctuary jurisdictions.” 

Months earlier, she and other Democratic mayors testified before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee in defense of their sanctuary city policies, positioning her as a face of Democratic pushback against the administration’s actions. 

Kraft has attacked Wu over various local issues, including a lack of available affordable housing, the planned expansion of bike lanes throughout city streets and public safety concerns. But polling has shown Wu with massive leads early on. 

An Emerson College Polling survey conducted last week found Wu ahead by 50 points, 72 percent to 22 percent. Three quarters of respondents said they view her favorably. 

A Suffolk University poll from July showed Wu ahead by 40 points. 

Wu has also racked up many major endorsements from Massachusetts Democrats, including from Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune. 

Kraft has received a few notable endorsements, most recently former city councilor Annissa Essaibi George, who was the runner-up to Wu in the 2021 race. 

Updated: 9:52 a.m. ET