2017 Boston mayoral election

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2017 Boston mayoral election
Flag of Boston.svg
  2013 November 7, 2017 2021  
Turnout27.80% Decrease2.svg 10.05 pp
  50 Cities Initiative Launch Boston - 19312021068 (Marty Walsh a).jpg Tito Jackson (7897504902) (a) (adjusted).jpg
Candidate Marty Walsh Tito Jackson
Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan
Popular vote70,19736,472
Percentage65.37%33.97%

Boston mayor election, 2017.svg
Results by ward
Walsh:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Jackson:      50–60%     60–70%

Mayor before election

Marty Walsh

Elected Mayor

Marty Walsh

The Boston mayoral election of 2017 was held on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, to elect the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts. Incumbent Democratic mayor Marty J. Walsh won re-election to a second term, defeating District 7 City Councilor Tito Jackson, [1] and two long-shot candidates, Robert Cappucci and Joseph Wiley. [2] [3]

Contents

A non-partisan preliminary election was held on Tuesday, September 26, 2017, with Walsh and Jackson advancing into a November runoff election. [4] In the November election, Walsh secured a landslide victory, winning by a two-to-one margin. [5] A total of 109,034 [6] of the city's approximately 392,000 registered voters [7] cast a ballot in the November election. The voter turnout of 27.80% [6] was down ten percentage points from the 2013 mayoral election, which generated more excitement as the first Boston mayoral race in a generation without an incumbent. [7]

Candidates

Candidates who advanced to general election

CandidateExperienceAnnouncedRef
The following candidates advanced to the general election held on November 7 [6]
Tito Jackson (7897504902) (2).jpg
Tito Jackson
Boston city councilor from district 7 since 2011January 12, 2017
TJ logo FINAL-4-2.png
[8]
50 Cities Initiative Launch Boston - 19312021068 (Marty Walsh 1).jpg
Marty Walsh
Incumbent mayor since 2014September 9, 2015
Marty Walsh for Mayor 2017 logo (black).png
[9]

Candidates eliminated in the primary

CandidateExperienceAnnouncedRef
The following candidates were eliminated in the primary election and did not advance to the general election [10]
Robert CappucciFormer Boston School Committee member
Candidate for mayor in 2013
[11]
Joseph WileyInsurance worker [12]

Primary election

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Robert
Cappucci
Tito
Jackson
Marty
Walsh
Joseph
Wiley
Undecided
Suffolk University/Boston Globe [13] June 2017500 RV± 4.4%4%23%54%1%18%
Emerson College [14] September 14–16, 2017529 LV± 4.2%7%24%60%5%

General election

Endorsements

By October 2017, ten of the 13 Boston City Council members endorsed Walsh for re-election. Ayanna Pressley remained neutral due to her husband being employed by the mayor, and Andrea Campbell declined to comment on her preference. [15]

The editorial boards of both of Boston's major daily newspapers endorsed Walsh, with The Boston Globe editorial board endorsing Whim for a second time, citing his success in handling housing and the city's vibrancy during his first term. [16] The Boston Herald editorial board also endorsed Walsh, saying the newspaper was wrong not to give their endorsement to Walsh in 2013. [17]

Tito Jackson
Individuals
Marty Walsh
Federal officials
State officials
Local officials
Individuals
Organizations
Newspapers

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Tito
Jackson
Marty
Walsh
Undecided
Emerson College [14] September 14–16, 2017529 LV± 4.2%26%55%19%
WBUR-FM [25] September 27 – October 1, 2017405± 4.9%24%60%16%
Emerson College [26] October 19–20, 2017532 LV± 4.2%23%61%16%

Results

2017 Boston Mayoral Election [27] [28]
Primary election
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Marty Walsh (incumbent) 34,882 62.52
Nonpartisan Tito Jackson 16,216 29.07
Nonpartisan Robert Cappucci3,7366.70
Nonpartisan Joseph Wiley5290.95
Write-in 4280.77
Total votes55,791 100%
General election
Nonpartisan Marty Walsh (incumbent) 70,197 65.37
Nonpartisan Tito Jackson 36,47233.97
Write-in 7080.66
Total votes107,377 100%

See also

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References

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  2. Irons, Meghan E. (June 7, 2017). "Long shots force runoff in Boston mayoral primary". The Boston Globe.
  3. "Marty Walsh faces 3 challengers on Boston's preliminary ballot". Boston.com. Associated Press. September 24, 2017.
  4. Steve LeBlanc, Marty Walsh, Tito Jackson advance to November election, Associated Press (September 26, 2017).
  5. Dan Atkinson & O'Ryan Johnson, [Mayor Walsh with a 'W' in re-election bid: Incumbent cruises home over challenger Tito Jackson], Boston Herald (November 8, 2017).
  6. 1 2 3 "MUNICIPAL ELECTION – NOVEMBER 7, 2017 MAYOR" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
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  9. Ryan, Andrew (September 9, 2015). "Mayor Walsh to seek reelection in 2017". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  10. "PRELIMINARY MUNICIPAL ELECTION – SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 MAYOR" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  11. Lyle, Caroline (June 14, 2013). "Meet the 12 Confirmed Candidates for Boston's 2013 Mayoral Election". BostInno. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  12. Smith, Jennifer (May 25, 2017). "Meet Joseph A. Wiley: He's 'dissatisfied' and wants to be your next mayor". Dorchester Reporter. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  13. Walsh has 31-point lead over Jackson in mayoral race, poll shows, Boston Globe (June 22, 2017).
  14. 1 2 Joe Battenfeld, Walsh up big in poll; pollster says Tito needs 'perfect storm at this point' Archived 2017-12-01 at the Wayback Machine , Boston Herald (September 18, 2017).
  15. Irons, Meghan E. (October 4, 2017). "Mayoral candidate Tito Jackson gets a cold shoulder from political establishment". The Boston Globe . Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  16. 1 2 Editorial Board (October 23, 2017). "A second term for Mayor Walsh". The Boston Globe . Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  17. 1 2 Boston Herald, Editorial Staff (October 25, 2017). "Editorial: Walsh has earned a second term". Boston Herald . Retrieved November 1, 2017.
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  22. 1 2 3 4 "Wards 21 and 22 Endorse Mayor Walsh". Marty Walsh. September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
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