Michelle Wu maintains wide lead in Boston mayoral poll

Incumbent Michelle Wu continues to dominate Boston’s mayoral polls, leading challenger Josh Kraft 60% to 30% in a Suffolk University/Boston Globe released last week.

By the numbers: The July 13-16 poll, which surveyed 500 residents likely to vote in September’s preliminary election, also shows Wu with a 66% favorable rating against 28% unfavorable, as well as a 65% job approval versus 33% job disapproval. Wu leads across most demographics, though Kraft beats her 52%-38% among public safety households and 64%-28% among conservatives.

So far, Wu has maintained a 30-point lead since April, when an early Saint Anselm College poll showed her ahead 53% to Kraft’s 21%. Meanwhile, community advocate Domingos DaRosa and former police officer Robert Cappucci received 3% and 1% in the latest poll, respectively.

What she’s for: Wu’s policy agenda aligns with voter priorities, particularly on housing where she supports rent control measures backed by 65% of poll respondents. Her administration champions the Boston Trust Act, which prevents local police from detaining individuals based solely on immigration status and enjoys 62% support. Wu has also pursued bike lane expansion as part of her transportation vision, though 50% of respondents said it has made getting around slower versus 18% who view it as a safety improvement.

Speaking out: Wu, Boston’s first woman and first Asian American mayor, launched her reelection campaign in April, casting herself as Boston’s defender against Trump administration pressure. The month prior, she made headlines for defending Boston’s immigrant policies, calling it “the safest major city in the country” and telling Republican lawmakers, “If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reforms. Stop cutting Medicaid. Stop cutting cancer research. Stop cutting funds for veterans.”

Wu drew criticism in late May when she described immigration raids as people getting “snatched off the street by secret police” and compared masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to a neo-Nazi group. At the time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) called her remarks “sickening” while the White House labeled them “disgusting, dangerous attacks on law enforcement.”

What’s next: Boston’s preliminary election is Sept. 9, with early voting starting Aug. 30. Interestingly, historical precedent supports Wu as no incumbent has lost reelection since 1949. Kraft’s campaign, for their part, dismissed the latest polling, saying he “didn’t get into the Mayor’s race because of what polling says.” Kraft, the son of billionaire mogul Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, currently leads in fundraising with about $3.2 million raised compared to Wu’s $1.3 million.