New England Patriots Foundation President Josh Kraft plans to challenge Boston Mayor Michelle Wu in the city’s elections this fall, according to two people who spoke to him recently, and he is looking forward to an official announcement in early February . A Kraft spokesperson declined to comment.
Kraft, the son of billionaire business magnate and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, has been considering a challenge to Wu for months, but Boston City Councilman Ed Flynn’s decision to abandon his own bid for the seat his father, Ray Flynn, once owned, approved the job for him.
Kraft advisers were seen eyeing office spaces in Boston’s Nubian Square to serve as a home base for the campaign, according to one of the people. Kraft, 57, already has some ties to the Roxbury neighborhood: The Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, where Kraft is board chairman, has its headquarters there.
Wu came to power in 2021 on the promise of progressive change, and broke some glass ceilings along the way — becoming the first woman and first person of color to be elected mayor of Boston. She recently achieved another first, becoming the city’s first mayor to give birth during her term. She welcomed her third child, a daughter, earlier this month, one day before she turned 40.
Taking on Wu, a Democrat, in the city’s independent elections this fall will be no small feat. Wu has kept her political operation focused since taking office. She helped lead allies to the City Council in 2023, making it easier to push her agenda. Last fall, she scored another victory in a race for a usually little-watched position on the court, which became a proxy battle between Wu and her more moderate critics on the council.
Wu also wields the power of the incumbent in a city that hasn’t ousted an incumbent in decades. She has already received endorsements from a handful of unions, including Laborers’ Local 223, Unite Here Local 26, SEIU Local 888 and AFSCME Council 93 — and $1.7 million in her campaign coffers as of late last month.
But town hall watchers expect Kraft could have access to virtually unlimited funds. And unlike most new candidates, he already has some name recognition — both among Patriots fans and as a philanthropist with ties to Boston’s black community and as the former head of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston.
And Wu is currently embroiled in a few battles that Kraft could try to wage during his campaign: impending school closures, a costly overhaul of White Stadium that has drawn some very vocal critics and a lawsuit, her recent battle to get her property taxes shift. Bill via Beacon Hill (now heading into round two) and whining from developers unhappy with Wu’s way of doing business in the city.
This story first appeared in Massachusetts playbook. Sign up today to get the best news from around the Bay State delivered to your inbox every weekday.