2017 Boston mayoral election

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]

2017 Boston mayoral election

← 2013 November 7, 2017 2021 →
Turnout	27.80% 10.05 pp
Candidate Marty Walsh Tito Jackson Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 70,197 36,472 Percentage 65.37% 33.97%
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

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

Candidate	Experience	Announced	Ref
The following candidates advanced to the general election held on November 7			[6]
Tito Jackson	Boston city councilor from district 7 since 2011	January 12, 2017	[8]
Marty Walsh	Incumbent mayor since 2014	September 9, 2015	[9]

Candidates eliminated in the primary

Candidate	Experience	Announced	Ref
The following candidates were eliminated in the primary election and did not advance to the general election			[10]
Robert Cappucci	Former Boston School Committee member Candidate for mayor in 2013		[11]
Joseph Wiley	Insurance worker		[12]

Primary election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Robert Cappucci	Tito Jackson	Marty Walsh	Joseph Wiley	Undecided
Suffolk University/Boston Globe[13]	June 2017	500 RV	± 4.4%	4%	23%	54%	1%	18%
Emerson College[14]	September 14–16, 2017	529 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

• Jonathan Kozol, author and children's advocate^[18]

Marty Walsh

Federal officials

• Ed Markey, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts^[19]
• Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts^[20]

State officials

• Nick Collins, Massachusetts State Representative^[21]
• Kevin Honan, Massachusetts State Representative^[22]

Local officials

• Frank Baker, Boston City Councilmember from District 3
• Mark Ciommo, Boston City Councilmember from District 9^[22]
• Michael F. Flaherty, Boston City Councilmember at-large and candidate for mayor in 2009^[22]
• Annissa Essaibi George, Boston City Council member (at-large)
• Salvatore LaMattina, Boston City Councilmember from District 1
• Bill Linehan, Boston City Councilmember from District 2^[21]
• Timothy McCarthy, Boston City Councilmember from District 5)^[23]
• Josh Zakim, Boston City Councilmember at-large

Individuals

• Steven Tolman, President of the Massachusetts AFL–CIO^[22]

Organizations

• Planned Parenthood^[24]

Newspapers

• The Boston Globe^[16]
• Boston Herald^[17]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Tito Jackson	Marty Walsh	Undecided
Emerson College[14]	September 14–16, 2017	529 LV	± 4.2%	26%	55%	19%
WBUR-FM[25]	September 27 – October 1, 2017	405	± 4.9%	24%	60%	16%
Emerson College[26]	October 19–20, 2017	532 LV	± 4.2%	23%	61%	16%

Results

2017 Boston Mayoral Election^[27][28]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Marty Walsh (incumbent)	34,882	62.52
	Nonpartisan	Tito Jackson	16,216	29.07
	Nonpartisan	Robert Cappucci	3,736	6.70
	Nonpartisan	Joseph Wiley	529	0.95
	Write-in		428	0.77
Total votes			55,791	100%
General election
	Nonpartisan	Marty Walsh (incumbent)	70,197	65.37
	Nonpartisan	Tito Jackson	36,472	33.97
	Write-in		708	0.66
Total votes			107,377	100%

See also

• List of mayors of Boston, Massachusetts

References

1. Irons, Meghan E. (January 11, 2017). "'I want to become the 55th mayor of the City of Boston'". Boston Globe. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
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. "MUNICIPAL ELECTION – NOVEMBER 7, 2017 MAYOR" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
7. Creamer, Lisa (November 8, 2017). "Low — But Slightly Higher Than Expected — Voter Turnout In Boston's Election". WBUR.
8. Dumcius, Gintautas (January 12, 2017). "Councilor launches campaign against Boston Mayor Walsh". masslive. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
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. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. 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. 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. Editorial Board (October 23, 2017). "A second term for Mayor Walsh". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
17. Boston Herald, Editorial Staff (October 25, 2017). "Editorial: Walsh has earned a second term". Boston Herald. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
18. Kimmel, Jordan (October 27, 2017). "Jackson campaign has new public endorsements". The Daily Free Press. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
19. Becker, Kaitlin McKinley (October 28, 2017). "Mass. Senator Ed Markey Endorses Boston Mayor Marty Walsh for Re-Election". NECN. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
20. Buell, Spencer (October 16, 2017). "Elizabeth Warren Is Endorsing Marty Walsh". City Life. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
21. Bernstein, David S. (January 8, 2017). "Who's Afraid of Marty Walsh?". Boston Magazine. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
22. "Wards 21 and 22 Endorse Mayor Walsh". Marty Walsh. September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
23. Irons, Meghan E.; Valencia, Milton J.; Fox Globe, Jeremy C. (November 5, 2017). "Boston's mayoral candidates make their closing arguments - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
24. "Planned Parenthood Endorses Walsh for Boston Mayor". The Rainbow Times | New England's Largest LGBTQ Newspaper | Boston. October 10, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
25. "Mayoral election in Boston, Massachusetts (2017)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
26. "Survey: Marty Walsh leads Tito Jackson by 38 points". Boston Herald. October 23, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
27. "Preliminary Municipal Election" (PDF). cityofboston.gov. September 26, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
28. "Municipal Election" (PDF). cityofboston.gov. November 7, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2021.

External links

Media related to Boston mayoral election, 2017 at Wikimedia Commons

• "Polls Close For Boston Mayoral Race". CBS Boston. November 7, 2017 – via YouTube.
• Boston Mayor Race – Nov 07, 2017 at ourcampaigns.com