Suffolk County

Wu, Essaibi George declare victory in Boston preliminary election

BOSTON — Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu declared victory late Tuesday night in Boston’s preliminary mayoral election while the official results were delayed amid what the city called vote-counting for mail-in and dropbox votes.

Fellow Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George told supporters she was excited by the impending results but elected to wait until all votes were counted before making any statements on the outcome of her candidacy in the preliminary race. Later Tuesday night, Essaibi George claimed victory.

Wu spent Wednesday morning greeting people at the Forest Hills MBTA stop, thanking them for their support.

She’s set to have a press conference at Boston City Hall at 11 a.m.

Essaibi George spent her Wednesday morning speaking with people at Mike’s City Diner.

It’s unclear if she is planning a press conference on Wednesday.

As the votes continued to be tallied late into the night Tuesday, the Boston Election Department released the following statement to Boston 25 News:

All polls and ballot drop boxes closed Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. Approximately 7,000 ballots were received today by the 8 p.m. deadline via US Mail or by dropbox, and will be processed at the Boston Election Department to allow for cross-referencing with the completed voter lists returned from each polling location then counting. Per state law, all ballots will be counted tonight.

Boston mayoral candidate Andrea Campbell conceded late Tuesday while Acting Mayor Kim Janey said in a statement that “while we are still waiting on some results, it appears that we have come up short in the election.”

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Wu, the frontrunner leading into Tuesday, declared victory a few hours after speaking to supporters Tuesday.

“Today, I am excited to move on to the next stage of this campaign and want to thank everyone who has been part of our movement from the bottom of my heart,” Wu is quoted as saying in a release from her campaign.

“I want to thank the historic field of candidates both for their campaigns and their long records of incredible work in our communities. I look forward to the next stage of this campaign and continuing our fight for the future of our city.”

People who live in Boston made their way to the polls Tuesday to vote for the city’s next mayor in the preliminary election. The top two candidates after Tuesday’s election will face off in the general election on Nov. 2.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 8 p.m. Results will be posted on the city’s website here when they become officially available.

Check out our Coffee with Candidates series:

Kim Janey

Michelle Wu

Andrea Campbell

Annissa Essaibi George

John Barros

PREVIOUS: Boston voters prepare to head to the polls for city’s preliminary mayoral election

Regardless of who wins the election, it is guaranteed to be historic. All five major candidates are people of color, and the City of Boston has only ever elected white men as mayor.