Walsh, 46, took 18.5 percent of today’s vote, according to a preliminary tally by the Associated Press with 100 percent of precincts reporting. Connolly, 40, had 17.2 percent. The two will face each other in a final election Nov. 5.
The men emerged from a field of 12 who sought to succeed Menino, 70, in Boston’s first open mayoral election in two decades. During the campaign to lead New England’s largest city, few divisive issues took center stage in what Menino described as “a popularity show” that included pick-up basketball games between candidates and some defending others in debates.
“The race will definitely be a little more acrimonious,” said Conor Yunits, a Democratic political strategist at the Liberty Square Group, a Boston-based consulting firm. “We will have two people with a really good shot at being the next mayor.”
There will also be a surge in fundraising and both candidates will rush to sew up endorsements and support from the losers, Yunits said.
The Boston mayoral contest is nonpartisan, though 11 of the candidates are Democrats, including Walsh and Connolly. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans about 8-to-1 in the city, while 38 percent of voters are independents.
