Boston's Preliminary Election Narrows Down Mayoral and City Council Candidate Lists

Strategic Insights -

The preliminary election in Boston on Sept. 9 significantly narrowed down the mayoral and city council candidate lists for the general election on Nov. 4. Incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu and challenger Josh Kraft had advanced to the general election, but Kraft dropped out of the race on Sept. 11. The election saw incumbent city councilors take major leads, with eight of ten candidates for the at-large city councilor position advancing to the general election.

Key Takeaways:

  • The preliminary election narrowed down the mayoral and city council candidate lists for the general election on Nov. 4.
  • Incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu and challenger Josh Kraft had advanced to the general election, but Kraft dropped out of the race on Sept. 11.
  • Incumbent city councilors took major leads, with eight of ten candidates for the at-large city councilor position advancing to the general election.
  • Four candidates for mayor were on the ballot, including Michelle Wu, who took nearly 72% of the popular vote, and Josh Kraft, who took around 23%.
  • The mayoral election saw Ruthzee Louijeune, Julia M. Mejia, Erin Murphy, and Henry Santana take the lead for city councilor positions.
  • Incumbents were also successful in district-specific elections, where two from each district advanced to the general ballot.
  • Gabriela Coletta Zapata, an incumbent in District 1, will run against Andretti McDuffle-Stanziati, who announced he would not actively campaign for the seat.
  • Incumbent Ed Flynn took a large portion of the vote for District 2 and will run against Charles Delaney.
  • Incumbent Brian Worrell will run against Helen Cameron for a seat in District 4, and incumbent Enrique Pepén will vie for his seat against Winston Pierre in District 5.
  • Said Ahmed and Miniard Culpepper won their seats in District 7, which is the only district without a running incumbent.

Statistics:

  • 72% of the popular vote went to incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu in the mayoral election.
  • 23% of the popular vote went to Josh Kraft in the mayoral election.
  • 2.6% of the votes were received by Domingos DaRosa, the next-highest mayoral competitor.
  • Early voting will take place from Oct. 25 to 31.
  • The voter registration deadline is Oct. 25.

Sources:

  • Boston Globe, Preliminary Election Results (no date provided)
  • Boston's City Council Website, Preliminary Election Results (no date provided)