Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — With less than four months until the primary and six months for the general, Boston's mayoral race is heating up. According to a recent poll conducted by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP), Mayor Michelle Wu is entering the race leading in job approval, favorability, and ballot support.
Known as her most visible opponent, Josh Kraft trails behind Wu in the pre-election polls with several lesser-known candidates. Wu has amassed substantial donations, garnering more than $2 million, while Kraft recently donated $2 million of his own money to his campaign to match her.
"I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think we have a chance to win. And I made that personal loan to the campaign because I believe in my campaign. I believe in the people that support my campaign. I know there is an opportunity to win in November," said Kraft.
Executive Director of NHIOP, Neil Levesque, noted that Boston's young, diverse, and educated electorate appears satisfied with Wu's leadership with voter disaffection aimed at Washington and not City Hall. But even with the strong early ballot lead, Wu knows what she's up against financially.
"Most of us don't have a billionaire father who can immediately open up millions of dollars from his Trump friends and other business associates and political associates to try to buy a job for his son in the form of the mayor's office. Boston is not for sale," said Wu.
It is notoriously difficult to unseat an elected incumbent mayor in Boston. The last mayor ousted was James Michael Curley in 1949 after serving time for mail fraud in federal prison.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Mike Macklin (@mikemacklinwbz) has more.