New poll shows Wu maintaining lead over Kraft in mayoral race, but facing local issue ‘vulnerabilities’

Mayor Michelle Wu is entering the mayoral race with a strong lead over her biggest challenger Josh Kraft according to a new Saint Anselm College NHIOP poll but pollsters commented disapproval numbers on chosen local issues could create vulnerabilities for the incumbent Boston s young diverse and educated electorate appears satisfied with Wu s leadership noted Neil Levesque executive director of Saint Anselm s New Hampshire Institute of Politics Voter disaffection is aimed at Washington not City Hall giving Wu a solid foundation as the race begins The poll based on online surveys of likely voters in Boston collected between April and identified Wu leading with of voters saying they would vote for her reelection nowadays and indicating they would vote for Kraft Along with Kraft who stepped down as head of Kraft Family Philanthropies when he reported his campaign Wu is set to face population activist Domingos DaRosa and City Hall employee Kerry Augustin in the November mayoral electoral contest The poll took a look at national politics with of respondents stating the country is on the wrong track while mentioned it is headed in the right direction Comparatively disclosed the city is headed in the wrong direction while commented its headed in the right direction Wu also did well in terms of job approval with of respondents approving of her performance and favorability with approving Josh Kraft s favorability stood underwater with rating him favorably and unfavorably We are not worried about what early polls say but are focused on building our campaign and engaging with voters about the real challenges they are concerned about noted Kraft campaign spokesperson Eileen O Connor The poll also pointed to vulnerabilities for the incumbent mayor Of three major local issues the poll shows disapprove of the City s handling of housing costs disapprove of traffic management and disapprove of homelessness management But the majority of respondents revealed they are overall satisfied with Boston s quality of life Perhaps more than any other factor this voter contentment with living in Boston may be any challenger s biggest obstacle to beating Wu the Saint Anselm College pollsters stated Kraft had strong leads among various voting groups polled the poll revealed including Republicans voters who disapprove of Boston s sanctuary city status those unhappy with Boston s quality of life and those prioritizing cabinet spending taxes Related Articles DA Kevin Hayden endorses Mayor Michelle Wu for reelection Rep Stephen Lynch gives Mayor Wu a B for her first term Boston Mayoral Poll Michelle Wu and Josh Kraft - in first head-to-head survey White Stadium-plan opponents Josh Kraft rally in freezing Franklin park as demolition gets underway Elected Boston school committee at issue again in mayoral race as Josh Kraft expresses advocacy On the other side Wu held leads among Democrats those prioritizing issues like elections democracy affordable housing and the market system inflation and those dissatisfied with handling of housing traffic homelessness crime and transit Kraft has a defined base but to compete he must broaden encouragement especially among voters who don t yet connect the city s challenges to overall quality of life Levesque commented That will be formidable in an issues climate dominated by national concerns