Josh Kraft advances in Boston mayor’s race and will face incumbent Michelle Wu in the fall

BOSTON AP Josh Kraft son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft has advanced in Tuesday s preliminary poll for Boston mayor and will face incumbent Michelle Wu in the fall Kraft injected millions of his own personal money into the campaign and set records for spending in a Boston mayoral preliminary electoral process Wu and Kraft bested two other candidates in the preliminary ballot military and former school district committee member Robert Cappucci and group activist Domingos Darosa Wu the city s first Asian and female leader has been bolstered in part by her defense of the city against attacks from the Trump administration Kraft whose father has had a friendly relationship with President Donald Trump in the past has also attacked the president saying at a union campaign event last month that Trump has stoked hatred and division throughout our country Kraft has pushed Wu particularly hard on housing saying she hasn t done enough to increase options and affordability In Wu advanced a proposal to cap annual rent increases for most of units that was blocked by the state Legislature Kraft has proposed a rent control system that would allow landlords to opt in to receive a real estate tax rebate after years It would not require legislative approval THIS IS A URGENT NEWS UPDATE AP s earlier story follows below BOSTON AP Boston Mayor Michelle Wu a frequent target of the Trump administration advanced in Tuesday s preliminary referendum in her bid to win a second term setting herself up as the presumptive favorite in November Wu the city s first Asian and female leader will face one other candidate in November Among them is Josh Kraft a fellow Democrat and nonprofit leader who is the son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft Robert Cappucci a veteran and former district school committee member and Domingos Darosa a region activist are also running Wu s standing has been bolstered in part by her defense of the city against attacks from the Trump administration Members of the administration often led by President Donald Trump s territory line czar Tom Homan have accused the city of not doing enough to crackdown on illegal immigration and threatened a surge in arrests Boston is commonly known as a sanctuary city and Wu has repeatedly stated she wants it to be a welcoming place for immigrants Her biggest challenger thus far has been Kraft who has preponderance name recognition of the three challengers but has struggled to find a winning message He spent heavily on advertising all summer hammering Wu on everything from the city s high cost of living to her handling of an area known for drug problems Wu has also benefited from strong patronage among the City Council and majority Democratic leaders in the state She also been able to use her position as mayor to showcase her leadership and announce a steady stream of new initiatives especially around housing Wu highlights housing crime and state change On Tuesday while visiting polls Wu announced the Trump administration is targeting Boston because it represents all that is good about our democracy We are proof of what s doable when people come together and we re proof of everything that shows why they are wrong she announced Wu who often works with her infant daughter at her side has also benefited from widespread assistance on the City Council and a string of endorsements from Democratic leaders She also has used the pulpit of her position to highlight her successes around housing combating setting change and reducing crime rolling out a series of initiatives all summer David Woodruff a retired research sponsorship specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Equipment mentioned he was supporting Wu because he wants people who are progressive and are strengthening democracy in office I like the way she stands up to Trump I like what she s been doing on the national scene he mentioned Travis Marshall who voted after riding his bike with his daughter to his polling place noted he trusts Wu more than Kraft We have a hostile federal authorities that is actively terrorizing our neighbors every day where they drop their kids off at school where they go to work where they go to court and we need to make sure that we are fighting and standing up against a fascist hostile takeover of our cities he revealed Kraft struggles to find message that resonates with voters Kraft meanwhile has struggled to insert his voice into the debate often joining Wu in criticizing the attacks from the Trump administration During a campaign event with union iron workers last month Kraft noted Trump has actively attacked democratic institutions and stoked hatred and division throughout our country He s made life harder for the very people my parents especially my mom raised me to fight for he stated Kraft who heads the Kraft Family Philanthropies and the New England Patriots Foundation has also been unable to find a strong message that resonates with voters He has targeted everything from bike paths to the cost of living in the city to his concerns about homelessness and drug addiction in one section of the city known as Mass and Cass Last week Kraft and two top campaign advisers mutually parted avenues according to a message from his campaign As of the end of August Kraft had outspent Wu million to about million thanks in large part to more than million in loans from the candidate to his campaign Wu entered the final days of the campaign with much more cash in the bank million to about million for Kraft Jeffrey Berry a Boston political analyst and professor emeritus at Tufts University declared money is good for creating name recognition but it s not enough on its own to win an vote He commented Wu has become a symbol of democratic resistance to the president and that will be hard for Kraft to overcome in a city like Boston Kraft has switched between attacking Wu and portraying himself as someone who wants to bring positive change to the city In an interview with The Associated Press Kraft commented his conversations with voters indicate to him that Wu doesn t have as strong a grip on the mayor s seat as several might think Everywhere we go myself our company throughout the neighborhoods of this city regardless of race socioeconomics ethnicity language we hear the same thing People don t feel listened to people don t feel connected to the mayor and the mayoral administration he stated A few of the polls have a big margin but let me tell you something Polls don t decide elections People decide elections In Dorchester Kraft supporter Remy Lawrence noted she s been impressed by his commitment to Boston s youth Kraft was CEO of the Boys Girls Clubs of Boston and worked with the organization for decades Lawrence mentioned Kraft personally reached out to her after her -year-old son Tyler who participated in Kraft family youth programs was murdered by a gunman in while walking near his grandparents home in the Mattapan neighborhood I believe we need change in this city I know we need change in this city she revealed We need a leader who is accessible who s accountable who s connected