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Updated Sept. 9, 2025, at 11:29 p.m.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 and philanthropist Josh Kraft will appear on the ballot for mayor in November after the two came out ahead of a crowded pool in Tuesday’s preliminary election.
With 44 percent of votes have been accounted for, Wu has received nearly 70 percent of the vote, a 40 point lead against Kraft, who has garnered 27 percent. NBC News called the preliminary election for Wu and Kraft shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m..
Community activist Domingos DaRosa and former Boston Police officer Robert Cappucci were also attempting mayoral bids, but only the top two performers from Tuesday’s election – Wu and Kraft – advanced to the general election on November 4.
Wu, a popular sitting mayor who attracted national attention for her testimony before Congress on Boston’s sanctuary city policies, has consistently led her challengers by double digits in opinion polls. A Friday poll released by Emerson College Polling reflected a 50-point lead in her favor.
Kraft, the son of billionaire Patriots owner Robert Kraft, has focused his campaign on his 35-year career in Boston, where he has led the Boys and Girls Club of Boston and the New England Patriots Foundation, a non-profit established by his family. He has faced pushback on his lack of a political background since he entered the race in February.
Wu won the mayoral seat in 2021 by a landslide, capturing 64 percent of the vote and becoming the first woman and person of color to lead Boston. She has also received endorsements from U.S. Senators Elizabeth A. Warren (D-Mass.), Ed J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Representative Ayanna S. Pressley (D-Mass.).
Warren reacted to the results on X, posting that Wu is “the best mayor in America.”
“No one fights harder for Boston,” Warren added.
Shortly before polls closed at 8:oo p.m., Wu held a rally in Roslindale’s Adams Park to watch results come in and address her supporters. A purple-clad band — the Jamaica Plain Honk Band — serenaded attendees, who played along on maracas. She addressed the crowd later in the night after being introduced by Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, who is also advancing to the general election in the Boston city council race.
“You sent a message to Josh Kraft, to Donald Trump and to all their enablers,” Wu said to the crowd of more than one hundred people. “Boston is not for sale, and Boston will not be bullied because we stand together.”
Wu thanked DaRosa and Capucci for their work on their own campaigns before throwing pointed jabs at Kraft.
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“Boston belongs to all of us, not just those with trust funds,” Wu said. “The mayor of Boston should answer to the people of Boston, not a handful of billionaire donors.”
The two candidates have clashed over local issues. Kraft’s campaign has targeted Wu for her expansion of the city’s bike network and accused her administration of stalling housing construction by slowing the permitting process for developers. He has also taken aim at Wu’s multimillion-dollar plans to rehabilitate White Stadium, attacking the project’s costs and championing local opposition.
Wu’s frequent opposition to the Trump administration has made the mayor a magnet for national attention — and won her favor close to home. Her congressional testimony earlier this year on Boston’s immigration enforcement brought her widespread support as she stood her ground against the House Oversight Committee’s harsh questioning.
On Monday, Wu said the city would pursue legal action against the Trump administration if its most recent immigration enforcement raid — Operation Patriot 2.0, the newest federal immigration surge — violates any laws.
“Boston, we’ve dealt with mad kings before,” she said during the rally. “We don't take orders from tyrants — not in 1775, and not in 2025.”
Boston’s sanctuary policy, the Boston Trust Act, prohibits police from working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on civil immigration enforcement efforts. But Trump’s Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Thursday alleging that Boston is “among the worst sanctuary offenders in America.”
Wu said the lawsuit is part of the Trump administration’s “authoritarian agenda,” repeating her oft-touted message that Boston is “the safest major city in the country.”
Suffolk University student Joseph R. Pisani — who spent the summer as a campaign fellow for Wu’s re-election — said the team was “ready” for the next move.
“I feel ready, especially for this next month, for us to keep bringing it and keep doing what the whole team has been doing best, which is showing up in communities,” he said.
“I just feel ready to keep going,” Pisani added.
—Staff writer Megan L. Blonigen can be reached at megan.blonigen@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @MeganBlonigen.
