Boston mayor to face challenge from Patriots Foundation president

New England Patriots Foundation President Josh Kraft plans to challenge Boston Mayor Michelle Wu in the city’s election this fall, according to two people who have spoken with him recently, and is eyeing early February for an official announcement. A spokesperson for Kraft declined to comment.

Kraft, the son of billionaire business mogul and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, has been weighing a challenge to Wu for months, but Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn’s decision to forgo his own bid for the seat his father, Ray Flynn, once held cleared the lane for him.

Kraft advisors were spotted looking at office spaces in Boston’s Nubian Square to serve as a home 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 serves as board chair, is headquartered there.

Wu swept into office in 2021 on the promise of progressive change, and shattered a few glass ceilings on the way – becoming the first woman and first person of color to be elected mayor in Boston. She recently notched another first, becoming the city’s first mayor to give birth while in office. She welcomed her third child, a daughter, earlier this month a day before she turned 40.





https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/21/boston-mayor-wu-patriots-kraft-00199623