Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has promptly voiced her concerns regarding rival Josh Kraft’s significant campaign spending and support from a super PAC, emphasizing the disparity between their funding sources.
In a statement released through her campaign, Wu remarked, “Most Bostonians don’t have a billionaire father to buy them a condo so they can move in to run for an office they’ve never voted for, live in a ward they don’t know, and spend millions from their family wealth and connections to try to buy the election.”
This criticism arose after Kraft, the son of billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, announced his intention to invest $2 million of his personal wealth into his campaign for City Hall.
Compounding this, a pro-Kraft super PAC named Your City, Your Future, reported spending $1.42 million on various advertisements—including text messages, digital media, and billboards—supporting Kraft’s candidacy.
Kraft’s personal financial contribution effectively neutralized Wu’s previous fundraising advantage, which had seen her campaign accounts exceeding $2 million compared to Kraft’s closer-to-home total of $151,161.
In response to Wu’s comments, Kraft acknowledged the weight of incumbency in politics, stating, “The power of incumbency is a real thing. While Mayor Wu appears to be running her campaign out of City Hall, I have a fully staffed campaign team, including a campaign headquarters in Nubian Square.”
Kraft noted that his campaign recently surpassed the $1 million mark in donations, highlighting the necessity for additional resources to support a modern campaign infrastructure. He expressed confidence about his campaign’s trajectory, saying, “I have never felt more optimistic about my campaign and what lies ahead.”
Wu, undeterred, further criticized Kraft, alleging that his wealthy connections were attempting to bolster his candidacy through negative campaign advertisements. She stated, “Senior Kraft and his fellow Trump associates are trying to buy Josh a job by trashing our city with millions of dollars of negative attack ads. And without grassroots support for his campaign of half-measures and grievances, Josh Kraft is now having to self-fund his campaign with millions more from his family wealth too.”
Wu characterized Kraft’s campaign as the “most negative mayoral campaign in generations” and expressed concern about the influx of external funding into Boston’s city elections.
Kraft’s team responded sharply to Wu’s remarks, particularly concerning his residency status and financial background. They labeled her claims as “categorically false,” insisting that Kraft purchased his home independently and has participated in multiple elections as a Boston resident.
The statement added, “He has worked in and around the neighborhoods of Boston for 35 years—long before Michelle Wu came to Harvard by way of one of the wealthiest suburbs of Chicago. She would rather resort to personal attacks than address her record of failures as mayor of Boston—from housing to the Boston Public Schools, managing the budget to managing her own personnel problems inside City Hall.”
As the campaign continues, Wu and Kraft have engaged in a series of public exchanges characterized by sharp commentary on social media and public statements.
Their most recent confrontations occurred during a forum earlier this month, where they deliberated on pressing issues affecting Boston, such as escalating housing costs and overall public safety.
image source from：https://www.masslive.com/politics/2025/05/mayor-wu-slams-rival-josh-kraft-over-big-bucks-infusion-boston-is-not-for-sale.html
