Josh Kraft, Son of NFL Owner, Launches Boston Mayoral Bid

A Massachusetts man with a familiar name has thrown his helmet into the race to be the next mayor of Boston.

Josh Kraft, the son of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, launched his campaign to be Boston’s mayor on Tuesday, the Boston Herald reported. He’s the most significant name yet looking to unseat incumbent Michelle Wu come November.

During his campaign launch event in Dorchester, Kraft made his case to the city, focusing specifically on several ideas close to real estate, arguing for more affordable housing and rent control.

“Renters deserve to be protected from massive year-over-year increases and my plan will do that,” Kraft said. His proposal would cap rents over a 10-year period in exchange for building owners receiving a break in real estate taxes.

Kraft ripped into Wu for failing to deliver on a promise of rent control, though it’s worth noting it was not for lack of trying: City Council approved the mayor’s proposal for rent control, but the State House didn’t pass the measure. In Massachusetts, rent control can’t be enacted at the city level without approval from state legislators.

Kraft also said he would offer one-time incentives for projects designed for middle-class families and first-time homeowners, lamenting the regulations stalling projects ready to be built, according to Boston.com.

Kraft is the president of the New England Patriots Foundation, the philanthropic arm of his family’s organization. He previously served as president and chief executive officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Boston. Kraft is relatively new to Boston, purchasing a condo in the North End for $2.5 million in 2023; before that, he lived in Chestnut Hill.

He’s running as a Democrat after taking time to distance himself from his father’s friendship with Donald Trump, arguing he’s “unfit to be president due to his character and lack of emotional control.”

Even if Kraft sounds the right notes, defeating Wu is going to be a major challenge, as no incumbent mayor in the city has lost a re-election campaign since 1949.

— Holden Walter-Warner