Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and challenger Josh Kraft will move on to November’s mayoral election after they secured the most votes in Tuesday’s preliminary top-two election, NBC News projects.
The two candidates who get the most votes for mayor, regardless of political party, move on to the municipal election on Nov. 4.
Wu is going for her second term after she won the 2021 mayoral election, becoming the first woman and person of color to be elected as the city’s mayor. (Acting Mayor Kim Janey was the first Black woman to hold the seat, which she assumed when then-President Joe Biden selected previous Mayor Marty Walsh to serve in his administration.)
During this year’s campaign, Wu’s website highlighted her record on housing, combating gun violence, climate and other issues. She secured a slew of high-profile endorsements, including those of Massachusetts’ Democratic senators, Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, as well as Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who represents a Boston-area district.
Kraft most recently was the president of the nonprofit New England Patriots Foundation. He is the son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft. The younger Kraft also previously was the president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, a charity.
Both Wu and Kraft are Democrats. The two have split over issues like White Stadium, and local journalists have documented Wu’s administration’s championing renovations for the stadium as critics like Kraft argue the price tag was too high. Kraft has also criticized Wu over her response to drugs, addiction and other issues, as well as personnel management.
Former police officer Robert Cappucci and Domingos Darosa were also on the ballot Tuesday.
The preliminary race comes just days after the U.S. Justice Department sued the city, Wu and others, alleging that Boston’s “sanctuary city” laws “interfere with the federal government’s enforcement of its immigration laws.”
“The City of Boston and its Mayor have been among the worst sanctuary offenders in America — they explicitly enforce policies designed to undermine law enforcement and protect illegal aliens from justice,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a news release last week.
Shortly after the lawsuit was announced, NBC Boston and other outlets reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement began a new operation in Massachusetts.
