Josh Kraft advances in Boston mayor’s race and will face incumbent Michelle Wu in the fall

Wu, the city’s first Asian and female leader, has been bolstered in part by her defense of the city against attacks from the Trump administration. Members of the administration, often led by President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, have accused the city of not doing enough to crackdown on illegal immigration and threatened a surge in arrests. Boston is commonly known as a sanctuary city, and Wu has repeatedly said she wants it to be a welcoming place for immigrants.

Kraft, whose father has had a friendly relationship with Trump in the past, has also attacked the president, saying at a union campaign event last month that Trump has “stoked hatred and division throughout our country.”

Kraft has pushed Wu particularly hard on housing, saying she hasn’t done enough to increase options and affordability. In 2023, Wu advanced a proposal to cap annual rent increases for most units that was blocked by the state Legislature.

Kraft has proposed a rent control system that would allow landlords to opt in to receive a real estate tax rebate after 10 years. It would not require legislative approval.

Wu highlights housing, crime and climate change

On Tuesday while visiting polls, Wu said the Trump administration is targeting Boston because it “represents all that is good about our democracy.”

“We are proof of what’s possible when people come together, and we’re proof of everything that shows why they are wrong,” she said.

Wu, who often works with her infant daughter at her side, has also benefited from widespread support on the City Council and a string of endorsements from Democratic leaders. She also has used the pulpit of her position to highlight her successes around housing, combating climate change and reducing crime, rolling out a series of initiatives all summer.

David Woodruff, a retired research support specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he was supporting Wu because he wants “people who are progressive and are strengthening democracy" in office.

“I like the way she stands up to Trump, I like what she’s been doing on the national scene," he said.

Travis Marshall, who voted after riding his bike with his daughter to his polling place, said he trusts Wu more than Kraft.

“We have a hostile federal government that is actively terrorizing our neighbors every day – where they drop their kids off at school, where they go to work, where they go to court and we need to make sure that we are fighting and standing up against a fascist, hostile takeover of our cities,” he said.

Kraft struggles to find message that resonates with voters

Kraft, who heads the Kraft Family Philanthropies and the New England Patriots Foundation, has been unable to find a strong message that resonates with voters. He has targeted everything from bike paths to the cost of living in the city to his concerns about homelessness and drug addiction in one section of the city known as Mass and Cass.

Last week, Kraft and two top campaign advisers “mutually parted ways,” according to a statement from his campaign.

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. 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.

Jeffrey Berry, a Boston political analyst and professor emeritus at Tufts University, said money is good for creating name recognition, but it’s not enough on its own to win an election. He said Wu has become a “symbol of democratic resistance to the president,” and that will be hard for Kraft to overcome in a city like Boston.

Kraft has switched between attacking Wu and portraying himself as someone who wants to bring positive change to the city.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Kraft said his conversations with voters indicate to him that Wu doesn’t have as strong a grip on the mayor’s seat as some might think.

“Everywhere we go, myself, our team, throughout the neighborhoods of this city — regardless of race, socioeconomics, ethnicity, language — we hear the same thing: People don’t feel listened to, people don’t feel connected to the mayor and the mayoral administration,” he said. “Some of the polls have a big margin, but let me tell you something: Polls don’t decide elections. People decide elections.”

In Dorchester, Kraft supporter Remy Lawrence said she’s been impressed by his commitment to Boston’s youth. Kraft was CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston and worked with the organization for decades. Lawrence said Kraft personally reached out to her after her 13-year-old son, Tyler, who participated in Kraft family youth programming, was murdered by a gunman in 2023 while walking near his grandparents’ home in the Mattapan neighborhood.

“I believe we need change in this city – I know we need change in this city,” she said. “We need a leader who is accessible, who's accountable, who's connected."