Battenfeld: Josh Kraft faces gaping 50-point deficit to Michelle Wu heading into preliminary election

Josh Kraft will try to cut his now gaping -point deficit to incumbent Michelle Wu in Boston s preliminary mayoral balloting Tuesday but may have to reassess his struggling campaign if he can t make it a competitive contest Kraft has for decades been a positive influence on Boston s youth and is known for his philanthropy but would he be better off dropping out and saving his millions rather than suffer a humiliating defeat of historic proportions in November That s a question he should ask himself on Tuesday night after Boston s voters have spoken and narrowed the choices down to just two Kraft son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft could call for a summit with Wu if his political cause looks hopeless to mend fences and even put his potency into something more productive like teaming up with her to resist President Donald Trump That s what presidential candidates do who have no chance of winning they suspend their campaign and maybe endorse a former rival Such a magnanimous move might even help his father s chances of getting Mayor Wu s approval to build a new soccer stadium for the New England Revolution in Everett Or Kraft could try to find a few other way besides electoral politics where he could be a change agent in Boston like putting his money in a new organization that serves as a watchdog on city authorities This is in the wake of a devastating Emerson College poll showing Wu with in a two-person contest with Kraft at just The only other poll taken several months ago had Wu with a -point lead on Kraft and two other candidates so it appears she has expanded her formidable advantage since then This despite the fact that Kraft and a super PAC backing him have blanketed the airwaves with millions of dollars of TV ads boosting Kraft s visibility and attacking Wu The polls show just how tough it is particular would say impossible to oust an incumbent mayor in Boston In modern history Mayors Tom Menino and Ray Flynn rolled up that kind of a margin in their long time at the helm of the mayor s office When he was unopposed for a second term and faced just write-in candidates Menino received of the vote in In the next balloting in he got of the vote against Peggy Davis-Mullen In against Maura Hennigan Menino dropped to and four years later he won with just against Michael Flaherty Former Mayor Raymond Flynn nearly topped Menino in when he was re-elected with of the vote Wu an unabashed liberal now could be following those legendary mayors with a resounding win against Kraft Kraft has been a positive influence in the region before launching his campaign and generally was well thought of for his charitable contributions to disadvantaged youth in Boston That s why it s so surprising that his mayoral campaign so far has been a dud Kraft shook up his campaign by parting with his top advisers Will Keyser and Eileen O Connor earlier this week It s unclear whether another high profile adviser would be willing to run his campaign if he loses on Tuesday by a huge margin What has gone wrong with Kraft s campaign His low-key personality isn t clicking with Boston voters but that isn t the main reason for his poor performance Kraft has not advanced any bold initiatives or held Wu s feet to the fire on major issues He truly agrees with Wu on President Trump so he hasn t been able to present a contrast for voters on that major issue Wu s fierce opposition to Trump has helped her forge such a huge margin Kraft has definitely made Wu a better mayor by forcing her to come up with solutions to Mass and Cass That could be his legacy in this campaign Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Libby O Neill Boston Herald