Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is kicking off her campaign for re-election with a strong lead over her opponent Josh Kraft, according to an Emerson College poll released Thursday.

The survey offers the first early look at the matchup between the first-term progressive mayor and her most prominent challenger.

Michelle Wu holds a double-digit lead over philanthropist Josh Kraft in the race for Boston mayor, a new poll from Emerson College finds. The preliminary election to narrow the field down to two candidates is in September. The poll asked more than 600 registered voters who they would vote for if the election were held today.

Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft said Mayor Michelle Wu deserves some heat as well for the city’s failure to clear sidewalks of snow and ice after Wu said 1,200 citations were issued to

The endorsement is the first time in more than 30 years that the city's largest police union has supported a Boston mayor for reelection, the union said.

Boston’s largest police officers' union will endorse incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu for reelection on Thursday afternoon, its leadership said. The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association said its members voted “overwhelmingly” to support Wu at the union’s most recent monthly meeting.

Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft is calling on Mayor Michelle Wu to “immediately halt” the razing of White Stadium that began last Friday, until the courts can rule on the city’s public-private