Tuesday marks the first time in 20 years that Boston will vote on a mayoral ballot that does not include so-called "Mayor for Life" Thomas M. Menino. Instead, Bostonians will choose two of 12 candidates in the open preliminary elections to advance to a general election on Nov. 5.

Among these candidates is Boston City Councillor John R. Connolly ’95, a Democrat who has emerged as the front-runner by a narrow margin, according to the Suffolk University/Boston Herald mayoral poll.

The Harvard College Democrats and the Harvard College Republicans have not endorsed any candidates for the primary, according to leaders in both of the organizations.

In a race in which 11 of the 12 contenders are Democrats, many members of the John Connolly for Boston Mayor Campaign chose to advocate for Connolly largely because of his strong stance on educational policy, according to Lee Morrow ’15, a member of the communications team for the campaign committee. Connolly was formerly a teacher at the Boston Renaissance Charter School.

"[Connolly’s] going to be the education mayor," Morrow said, "He wants to give a good education to every student in Boston, and he’s pragmatic about it."

This characteristic has defined Connolly’s position on expanding charter schools, an issue which has been controversial in the city, especially among teachers’ unions.

"He wants to increase the cap on charter schools because studies have shown that would help, but he also wants to get strong teachers at public [non-charter] schools," Morrow said.

According government professor Paul E. Peterson, director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s program on education policy and governance, the expansion of charter schools is an issue of vital importance for Boston.

"Public school performance is low," Peterson said. "Recent studies have shown that the charter schools are way outperforming them."

Morrow says that education has been the number one concern of voters contacted by the committee, especially those in West Roxbury, from where Connolly hails and the Connolly campaign committee holds its office.

The committee has been canvassing, hosting debates, and compiling information about candidates’ platforms to reach voters in West Roxbury and elsewhere in Boston.

"It all depends on how many people get out [to vote] tomorrow," Morrow said. "We’ve got constant canvassing. It’s going to be a real shoe-leather campaign."

The committee also has been working with local Connolly supporters, who form a major portion of the canvassing committees for this campaign.

Though Marrow and the committee feel fairly confident that Connolly will advance to the general election, several factors make tomorrow’s exact results difficult to predict. Five African-American candidates are in the race, including one who would be the first female mayor of Boston. The race has also been noted in the media for being remarkably positive, with little to no smear campaigning.

Tomorrow’s ballot includes only one Republican candidate, David J. Wyatt, also a former teacher. In recent polls, Wyatt has lagged behind the 11 Democrats with only 0 to 1 percent, according to the Suffolk University/Boston Herald poll.