Together with her reelection within the rear view mirror, Michelle Wu’s political capital is at an all-time excessive. The large query now could be how she’ll money it in on the nationwide stage.
A run for president? Not out of the query.
Democrats desperately trying to find a presidential savior in 2028 might nicely flip to Wu, Boston’s dynamic millennial mayor who simply destroyed her rivals to return for a second time period.
Wu can be 43 by the point the following election rolls round, the identical age as Boston’s John F. Kennedy when he was inaugurated because the nation’s thirty fifth president.
Wu is Harvard educated, the mom of three, the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, articulate, freed from any private scandals. Such a drive regionally she drove a well known billionaire’s son out of the race.
When challenged by Republicans in Congress, she put them in her place.
She’s the proper anti-MAGA candidate. Wu checks all of the bins.
She is aware of spin a story, like saying Boston is the “most secure main metropolis in America.” If you happen to repeat it sufficient, it turns into true.
Because the Democratic Celebration veers to the acute left, Wu has all of the components for what their voters are in search of in 2028 – a younger girl of shade who has stood as much as President Donald Trump’s administration and never solely survived however flourished as Trump’s public enemy primary.
In a formidable show of clout, the mayor on Tuesday succeeded in getting her handpicked flunkies voted in on the Boston Metropolis Council, which Wu-style progressives have a stranglehold on.
She claimed voters delivered a “landslide” victory for at-large incumbent Henry Santana, probably the one time a fourth place finisher has been described in these over-the-top phrases.
Chatting with supporters Tuesday night time, Wu forged her election victory as a nationwide take a look at in opposition to Trump.
“This 12 months, in opposition to the backdrop of a federal administration’s chaos and cruelty, we confronted a selection: cave to the stress, backtrack, change course, or double down on the values that based our nation. That’s what’s at stake,” Wu mentioned. “That’s what this election was about right here in Boston, not simply how we lead, however what we consider.”
Wu appears to have taken herself out of a run for U.S. Senate difficult Democratic incumbent Ed Markey, letting U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley take that one if she needs.
However you possibly can just about assure Wu shall be a part of the nationwide dialog in 2028, whether or not as a candidate on the high of the ticket or a VP contender.
If U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg may be considered as presidential materials, why not Michelle Wu who in truth has extra credentials and expertise than AOC or Buttigieg?
Whereas some native observers and Wu critics might scoff on the suggestion of her on the nationwide ticket, not everybody nationally views her that means.
Bostonians typically deride our native pols’ nationwide ambitions even if a few of them have run for and gained nationwide workplace. Kennedy gained the 1960 election, and Boston Mayor Kevin White was almost chosen as operating mate for Democrat George McGovern in 1972.
Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis gained the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, earlier than he was thumped by Republican George H.W. Bush within the basic election.
A handful of different Massachusetts pols, together with former Sen. Paul Tsongas, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton and former Gov. Deval Patrick, have run for president however with out a lot success. Tsongas gained the New Hampshire major however was defeated by Invoice Clinton within the 1992 Democratic contest, and Moulton and Patrick’s campaigns by no means went anyplace.
Wu might deny she has any nationwide ambitions however her actions inform a distinct story. The Boston mayor has repeatedly sought to raise her nationwide profile throughout her first 4 12 months time period.
Wu was simply named one of many 25 “most promising rising Democratic leaders who’ve but to change into family names” by New York Journal.
She simply made the reduce as a result of she is 40 years previous (not precisely younger any extra) however Wu might be essentially the most well-known Democrat nationally to crack the checklist.
“Though they don’t run the nation but, the visions of those younger politicians communicate to the issues the get together is grappling with: ship on working class points, develop the get together’s tent whereas holding onto its values, and stand as much as the present administration,” the journal writes.
Wu vanquished opponent Josh Kraft, son of billionaire Patriots’ proprietor Robert Kraft, within the preliminary election, by such an amazing margin that he was pressured to drop out.
No different Boston mayor can declare that of their resume.
