Boston Mayor Wu will run unopposed in her reelection bid after challenger’s recount bid falls short
Sep 22, 2025, 1:21 PM | Updated: 3:18 pm
BOSTON (AP) — Michelle Wu will run unopposed for mayor in Boston after a challenger didn’t garner enough votes to advance to the general election, the city’s election department announced Monday
Wu, the city’s first Asian and female leader and a frequent target of the Trump administration, is seeking a second, four-year term. She was expected to face Josh Kraft, a nonprofit leader and son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft. But he dropped out after losing badly to her in the preliminary election earlier this month.
Since the top two vote getters advance, attention turned to third place finisher Domingos DaRosa. But after a recount of several wards by the city’s election board was completed Monday, DaRosa, a community activist who was born in Cape Verde Islands, did not garner enough votes to qualify to be on the ballot in November.
Wu, a progressive Democrat running for a second term, spent much of the year jousting with the federal government over immigration.
Members of the administration, often led by President Donald Trump’s border 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 said she wants it to be a welcoming place for immigrants.
Trump’s U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Wu, the city of Boston and its police department over its sanctuary city policies, claiming they’re interfering with immigration enforcement. In response, Wu accused Trump of “attacking cities to hide his administration’s failures.”
On the day of the preliminary election, the Department of Homeland Security put out a statement announcing the arrests of seven people as part of a crackdown in Massachusetts.
Kraft, a fellow Democrat and a nonprofit leader, injected millions of his own personal money into his campaign and set records for spending in a Boston mayoral preliminary election. He was also been critical of Trump’s attacks and has pushed Wu particularly hard on housing, saying she hasn’t done enough to increase options and affordability in Boston.
During his campaign, DaRosa advocated for affordable housing solutions, improved public safety and youth empowerment.
