WASHINGTON (AP) — Boston voters will narrow the field of candidates for mayor on Tuesday in a municipal primary that pits incumbent Michelle Wu against a deep…
Boston voters will narrow the field of candidates for mayor on Tuesday in a municipal primary that pits incumbent Michelle Wu against a deep-pocketed challenger with one of the most famous last names in New England.
Wu seeks a second term as President Donald Trump has threatened federal intervention in some of the nation’s largest cities, following his deployment of National Guard troops and federal officers to Los Angeles and Washington for local law enforcement matters. Since Trump took office in January, Republican leaders have excoriated Wu and other big-city mayors for immigration policies they say undermine the president’s mass deportation efforts.
Wu faces a challenge from Josh Kraft, son of billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and the former head of both the New England Patriots Foundation and the Boys & Girls Club of Boston. Wu and Kraft are Democrats. Also on the ballot are former Boston police officer and frequent candidate Robert Cappucci and community organizer Domingos DaRosa.
As of the end of August, Kraft had outspent Wu, $5.5 million to about $1.1 million, thanks in large part to more than $5 million in loans from the candidate to his campaign. But Wu entered the final days of the campaign with much more cash in the bank, $2.4 million to about $1.3 million for Kraft.
Although Democrats have exclusively occupied the Boston mayor’s office for nearly 100 years, the position is officially nonpartisan, with all candidates running on the same primary ballot and the top two vote-getters advancing to the November general election.
