Boston mayoral race heads into Election Day

BOSTON — While the polls have Boston mayoral candidate Annissa Essaibi-George trailing by double digits, that isn’t slowing her down. Essaibi-George has been running on all cylinders, campaigning for 24 hours straight with door knocks and radio appearances. She will be among the first to vote at her polling location in Dorchester when the doors open at 7 a.m.

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Essaibi-George finished second in the preliminary election and has been trailing in the polls. But she says polls make people lazy, and she has been working even harder to gain support from voters. She does have support from several unions, including the Boston firefighter’s union, Boston EMS union, and former police commissioner William Gross.

The Boston city councilor is a mom of four boys. She was a public school teacher and small business owner. While some have called her the more moderate candidate, she has said she wants to be known as the teacher candidate who is willing to do the work.

“I take this commitment to the people of Boston pretty fully, and when I’m elected to a position, I want to lead this city,” said Essaibi-George while out campaigning Monday. “I’m committed to the work.”

Essaibi-George will be stopping at polling locations nearly every hour in the city until they close. She will end the night at the Copley Fairmont Plaza with close friends and family.

As Bostonians head to the polls Tuesday for what promises to be a historic Election Day, mayoral candidate Michelle Wu is hopeful she’ll be elected the city’s first woman and first person of color mayor.

Wu was the first person to announce her candidacy 14 months ago, and she’s been a frontrunner ever since. Wu came out on top in September’s primary, earning a third of the votes in a crowded field of seven candidates. She’s held on strong to that support and has been leading in the polls, sometimes by as many as 30 points.

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Wu is popular with progressives who support her platform, which focuses on affordable housing, free public transportation, and plans to combat climate change, among other things. Wu has secured endorsements from Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, Congresswoman Ayanna Presley, and more.

The winner of this mayoral election will start leading the city in just two weeks on Nov. 16.

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