Usa Today. 2 Hours Ago
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is facing off against the heir to a legendary football dynasty in the Massachusetts city’s mayoral election, but her biggest opponent may well be President Donald Trump.
Wu, the first woman and person of color to lead the city, is seeking a second term just as Boston has become a focal target of Trump’s crackdown on Democratic cities. She’s facing a challenge from Josh Kraft, a fellow Democrat and the son of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Wu and Kraft are all but certain to advance to the November general election over two lesser-known candidates in the city’s four-way Sept. 9 primary. The other two candidates are Robert Cappucci, a retired Boston police officer; Domingos DaRosa, a community activist and former Pop Warner football coach.
So far, Wu has led the race by a wide margin. An Emerson College survey published Sept. 5 found the incumbent ahead of Kraft by more than 50 points. Polls only capture a snapshot in time, but if Election Day results mirror those figures, pundits say Wu is likely to cruise to a second term in November
Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, told USA TODAY Kraft would need a “tremendous performance” in the primary to turn the tide of the race.
Here’s a closer look at the two leading candidates.
Who is Michelle Wu?
Wu, 40, first elected to lead Boston in 2021, has focused much of her campaign on local issues, including improving housing affordability.
But much of her momentum with voters has been driven by her pushback to the Trump administration’s scrutiny of the city. In March, Wu spoke at a congressional hearing and defended Boston’s sanctuary city policy, which limits how much local police cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
Shortly after, her support began to rise. Between its February and September polls, Emerson saw a 30% uptick in people who planned to vote for Wu.
“That really elevated her in the eyes of voters because they know she will stand up for Boston,” said Mary Anne Marsh, a local Democratic political analyst.
More recent actions by the Trump administration could further bolster Wu ahead of the election.
Days before the primary, the Department of Justice sued Wu and the city for its law prohibiting law enforcement from assisting federal officials with civil immigration enforcement. The lawsuit follows similar cases against New York City, cities in New Jersey and Los Angeles in recent weeks.
Wu called the lawsuit an "unconstitutional attack” in a statement.
Who is Josh Kraft?
Kraft, 58, who leads his family's nonprofit, the Kraft Family Philanthropies, positioned himself from the start as a business-friendly candidate in the race. He had served as CEO of the Boys and Girls Club in Boston for more than a decade.
Much like Wu, he has focused his campaign on local issues, including opposing the construction of more bike lanes in the city and plans to convert White Stadium, an old public school facility, into the home of a new professional women’s soccer team. The team is slated to play its inaugural season at Gillette Stadium, which is owned by the Kraft Group.
Kraft has advocated for housing polices that make it easier for developers to build more quickly and criticized Wu for her handling of local schools and public safety issues.
But those topics haven’t swayed voters nearly as much as concerns about Trump.
“We’re seeing threats to democracy us the top issue in the city and having Wu take on Trump on these issues has given her kind of a different opponent,” Kimball said of Emerson’s polling. “Kraft is almost an afterthought.”
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