2021 Boston mayoral race

With polls showing Michelle Wu more than 30 points ahead of Annissa Essaibi George, the mayoral race heated up Monday with the super PAC Bostonians for Real Progress dropping an advertisement blasting Wu for allegedly advocating for defunding the Boston police.

In the latest public polls on Boston’s mayoral race, at-large City Councilor Michelle Wu was far ahead of the pack, with a MassINC poll showing her with 30% of the vote, followed by acting Mayor Kim Janey with 15%, at-large Councilor Annissa Essaibi George with 13% and District 4 Councilor Andrea Campbell, 11%. Former chief of economic development John Barros polled at 4%.

Now there is a real chance to establish Boston as one of the nation’s truly metropolitan cities. Andrea Campbell and acting mayor Kim Janey both score high enough in the polls, especially when considering the undecided, for at least one to win in the preliminary. But if both win, a new Boston is assured.

With less than two weeks until the Sept. 14 preliminary in the mayoral election, at-large City Councilor Michelle Wu appears most likely to advance to the final election with councilors Annissa Essaibi George, Andrea Campbell and acting Mayor Kim Janey locked in a tight competition for the number two spot.

The departure of former Mayor Martin Walsh in March set off a domino effect, leading to a bumper crop of candidates for the mayoral and City Council seats in Boston. Among those running for mayor are two district and two at-large councilors, whose newly open seats have drawn large and diverse fields of candidates.

Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards, who represents East Boston, along with Charlestown and the North End, last Wednesday endorsed At-Large Councilor Michelle Wu's bid for mayor, all but ensuring East Boston — with its heavily Latino population — will become a hotly contested battleground.