Josh Kraft, son of billionaire Robert Kraft, drops out of Boston mayor’s race

Josh Kraft, son of the billionaire New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft, announces that he is dropping his bid to unseat Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, days after advancing to the November ballot.

Kraft announces the move on WCVB-TV Thursday night in Boston. On Tuesday, he and Wu bested two challengers during a preliminary election to advance to the final round of the mayoral race.

Kraft, who is Jewish, is a nonprofit leader. His father is a leading Jewish philanthropist and the founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.

Despite spending millions of his own money on the race, Kraft struggled to find a message that would resonate with voters amid the popularity of Wu. She is Boston’s first female and Asian mayor and has been bolstered in part by her defense of the city against the Trump administration.

Kraft tells supporters in a letter provided to The Associated Press that the election had never been about him or Wu.

“We could spend the next eight weeks politicking—with harmful rhetoric or nasty attack ads. Or we could get back to what really matters – the issues that impact Bostonians each and every day. The work I have focused on for my whole career,” Kraft writes.

Kraft says he plans to support efforts to provide workforce training for former inmates as well as address concerns about homelessness and drug addiction in a section of the city known as Mass and Cass. He says the investment would total $3 million, a combination of funds he planned to dedicate to his campaign and additional dollars.

As of the end of August, Kraft had outspent Wu, $5.5 million to about $1.1 million, thanks in large part to more than $5 million in loans from the candidate to his campaign.

Wu won around 72% of the vote in Tuesday’s election, compared with Kraft’s 23%.