Robert Kraft’s son Josh quits Patriots job to chase uphill mayoral fight: Report

A member of the Kraft family has left the New England Patriots to focus on a more pressing matter. Josh Kraft, the son of Patriots owner and CEO Robert Kraft, has vacated his role with the club to put his focus on the Boston mayoral race.

The New York Times reports that the 58-year-old is trailing mayoral incumbent Michelle Wu by a considerable margin in the race to claim the Democratic ticket for November’s election cycle.

They report that Wu is ahead of Kraft in the polls at the moment by a margin of 59-29 percent.

To focus on that race, Kraft has stepped away from his role as the head of the New England Patriots Foundation according to the club’s media guide. Josh is one of four brothers in the Kraft family, three of whom have been involved in the operations of the Patriots, including Jonathan, who is currently the team president.

In a poll conducted by Suffolk University between July 13-16, Josh Kraft was the preferred candidate of only 30% of respondents, while Wu was preferred by 60% of those polled.

Despite many polls suggesting Kraft has an uphill climb ahead of him, his campaign doesn’t appear to be concerned:

“Josh didn’t get into the Mayor’s race because of what polling says, and nothing has changed his focus on continuing to show up in Boston neighborhoods, talk to residents, and listen to the concerns of many people who are disappointed with this Mayor and the direction the city is going,” a spokesperson for the Kraft campaign said in a statement.

The preliminary elections take place on Sept. 9, with early voting beginning on Aug. 30. That election will narrow the field to two candidates, one on the Democratic side and one on the Republican side.

Wu and Kraft will be joined on the Democratic ticket by Domingos DaRosa and Robert Capucci.

Plenty of staff changes happening for the Patriots

Josh Kraft’s departure is one of many the franchise has had to deal with this off-season as they aim to get a winning team back on the field.

The once-dominant Patriots franchise brought in a new coaching staff led by one of their former iconic defensive players, Mike Vrabel, who brought back Josh McDaniels to be the team’s new offensive coordinator. Meanwhile, former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Marrone was hired to head the offensive line. Brian Belichick also left his role as safeties coach last season to join his father, former Patriots Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick, at the University of North Carolina.

The Patriots have not qualified for the postseason in three consecutive campaigns.