Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft says he gave his campaign about $3.5 million in August, in the final push to the preliminary election as he tries to make headway against Mayor Michelle Wu.
The latest cash influx brings Kraft’s personal investment in his campaign to roughly $5.5 million so far, in what’s shaping up to be the most expensive mayoral race in Boston’s history.
Kraft, the third son of billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, explained the new contribution in an interview with WBUR on Thursday.
“First of all, I believe in our campaign,” he said. “Every neighborhood we go in, people want change and I believe in that and that’s what’s driving me.”
Early voting in the city’s preliminary election is underway and polls close at the end of the day Tuesday. The result will narrow the field to two candidates from four for the November race. Kraft is more prominent than the other two rivals to Wu, but faces a 30-point deficit in the race to unseat her, according to a recent poll by the Boston Globe and Suffolk University.
He says he is not discouraged by the numbers: “If I paid attention to polls, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in this.”
Prior to August’s infusion, Kraft had already contributed $2 million to his campaign. His August donation does not yet appear with his name in the latest report from the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, as the campaign’s deposit report is not due until tomorrow. But the campaign’s bank report shows more than $3.5 million in receipts in August, including $6,500 from other donors.
Through August, Kraft’s campaign has now raised a total of $6.8 million, compared to the $1.8 million Wu’s campaign collected, according to OCPF records.
In a statement, the Wu campaign said, “It’s more clear than ever: Josh Kraft is relying on his inherited wealth — and the support of Trump donors, millionaires, and billionaires — to prop up his floundering campaign.”
Kraft has sought to distance himself from his father’s support of Trump.
According to campaign finance records, Kraft’s campaign went into August with less than $150,000 in cash on hand. And the campaign quickly spent a large chunk of the candidate’s August cash infusion — on advertisements, canvassing and campaign events — ending the month with $1.3 million in the account.
Under state campaign finance rules, individual donors can give $1,000 directly to candidates per year, but there’s no limit on donations from the candidates themselves.
Wu, meanwhile, began and ended last month with around $1.4 million, raising just under $250,000, and spending $303,000, according to campaign finance records. She entered September with $2.4 million in cash on hand.
Kraft has faced questions about campaign contributions and his personal finances since he entered the race in February. In August, after days of pressure from Wu, Kraft released a summary of his tax returns to WBUR. They showed he earned $6.3 million in 2024, and nearly $6.5 million in 2023. The sources of the $6.3 million were not explained, although the income appears to come from the Kraft family businesses.
The campaign has said Kraft has “no financial relationship with the Kraft Group other than through a blind trust of which he has no control over.”
Kraft, who spent most of his career working for nonprofits and in philanthropy, has not said if he will release his tax returns.
News of Kraft’s latest financial injection for his campaign comes on the heels of a shakeup on his staff. In a statement Wednesday, a spokesman said the campaign was “mutually parting ways” with two of Kraft’s top advisers — married couple Will Keyser and Eileen O’Connor, political consultants at Keyser Public Strategies. Two other advisors left in late July.
“ I don’t want to discuss differences, but I will discuss this,” Kraft told WBUR. “I’m very grateful to Will and Eileen. I had never done this before and they got me going. They gave me the basics, and I’m grateful for everything I learned from them.”
But earlier this week, he said, they came to a mutual decision to part ways.
“We did it amicably, professionally and respectfully,” he said. “And now our team is just focused on Tuesday, September 9th, preliminary [election] day.”
Kraft said the campaign was not planning to make any strategy pivots upon the duo’s departure. He didn’t answer whether he would be adding any new advisors to his campaign. He’s now flanked by two longtime Boston political strategists: Jacquetta Van Zandt and Michael Kineavy.
