Boston Mayoral Race: Where the Candidates Stand 3 Weeks Out

With just three weeks until voters head to the polls in the Boston mayoral race, 2013 mayoral finalist John Connolly has some advice.

"It's time to start making your closing case to voters. If they don't know who you are by now, you're in deep trouble," he said.

The latest poll shows two front-runners, Michelle Wu and Kim Janey, followed by a second tier, Annissa Essaibi George and Andrea Campbell.

John Barros polled in the low single digits, while many remained undecided.

But that poll is now seven weeks old, and many feel it is no longer accurate.

"There's front-runners, but this is still anybody's race. You're just trying to get to second place, to get into the final," Connolly said.

Connolly, a supporter of Campbell, says while about 50% of voters say they have a candidate, they also say they're open to changing their minds.

"Those soft voters are who you have to go after just as hard as the undecided, and any candidate can get to second place if they make an effective case to those voters," he said.

And Connolly says handshaking and house parties are no longer the best strategy.

"You've got to unload everything you have in the arsenal now in these final three weeks," he said.

That often means emptying out the campaign coffers to get ads on TV and social media.

Janey, the city's acting mayor, was the last to get on TV, with her first ad Monday.

And there is another strategy: going on the attack.

Essaibi George just accused acting Janey of weaponizing her office for not releasing certain public documents.

Campbell has also gone after Janey for a lack of leadership on pandemic vaccine mandates.

"You've got to take those last-gasp efforts, and sometimes that means comparing yourself to the other candidate, and so it can get a little dicey," Connolly said.

One thing is certain in the upcoming election: the next mayor elected will be a person of color for the first time in Boston history.