Boston Mayor Michelle Wu confirms she’s running for reelection in 2025 – Washington Examiner
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has officially announced her candidacy for reelection in 2025 during an interview with WCVB. As Boston’s mayor, Wu is the first woman and first person of color to hold the position, having won her initial election in 2021 by a significant margin. Currently, she faces minimal opposition in the upcoming nonpartisan primary, although restaurateur Jorge Mendoza-Iturralde has declared an independent run, motivated by issues related to outdoor seating permits in the North End.
Potential challengers, including Boston City Councilman Ed Flynn and Josh Kraft (son of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft), have not yet confirmed their intentions to run. Flynn, a well-established figure in the city council, stated he is considering his options rather than jumping into the race prematurely. Meanwhile, Kraft, if he runs, would likely have substantial financial backing despite lacking political experience.
Wu’s governance has not been marked by any significant scandals that would negatively impact her approval ratings, which remain relatively high, with about 57% of voters expressing approval of her performance, according to recent polling. The upcoming Boston mayoral race is anticipated to be one of the noteworthy elections in the off-cycle year.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu confirms she’s running for reelection in 2025
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu confirmed she will run for reelection in 2025 in a Sunday interview with WCVB.
The Boston mayoral race is one of several notable elections during the off-cycle election year.
Wu hasn’t had any heavy hitters step up to challenge her in the nonpartisan primary, though a restaurateur, Jorge Mendoza-Iturralde, announced his independent campaign in May. The main matter that spurred him to run is the city’s permit policy for outdoor seating in the North End.
Two other rumored challengers, Boston City Councilman Ed Flynn and Josh Kraft, the son of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, haven’t announced their candidacies.
Flynn, who is undecided on his intentions, was president of the Boston City Council from 2022 to 2024 but has served as a city councilman since 2018.
“I’m going to consider it, consider my options, and how I can be helpful to the residents of Boston,” Flynn told the Boston Herald.
He added that it’s “too early” for him to “engage in campaigns,” saying that he has “a lot of work to do on the City Council and providing positive leadership.”
His campaign war chest far exceeds the next closest city councilor, sitting at just below $800,000.
If Josh Kraft chooses to enter the race, he would likely exceed any of the candidates in campaign funds but would be plagued by political inexperience. He’s never held elected office, though he has been floated repeatedly as a candidate.
Wu was elected decisively in 2021, beating her opponent, Boston City Councilwoman Annissa Essaibi George, by almost 30 points. Outside of the controversy she generated with her “electeds of color” Christmas party last year, Wu hasn’t endured any major scandal to drop her approval rating with voters.
A May poll showed 57% of registered voters approved of her job performance while only 35% disapproved. She still has a substantial campaign war chest of $1.5 million, which would be hard for any competitor outside of Josh Kraft to best.
Candidates running against Wu will likely point to immigration as the city’s largest problem, as some city-run shelters have been overflowing with new residents.
“Elections have consequences, and the federal government is responsible for a certain set of actions, and no individual city can reverse or override some parts of that,” said Wu. “But what we can do is make sure that we are doing our part to protect our residents in every possible way, that we are not cooperating with those efforts that actually threaten the safety of everyone by causing widespread fear and having large-scale economic impact.”
A nonpartisan primary will occur later in 2025, with the candidates who receive the first and second-most votes advancing to the general election. As it stands, the electoral odds favor Wu, though it’s still early in the process.
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