New Balance chairman and billionaire Jim Davis is throwing his weight behind Boston mayoral candidate and longtime nonprofit leader Josh Kraft, making a $1 million donation to a super PAC that’s backing Kraft as he seeks to unseat Mayor Michelle Wu in the upcoming November election.
The donation, made to the Your City, Your Future super PAC, was first reported by Commonwealth Beacon, and became public in a state campaign finance report published Friday. Davis, a longtime Republican donor, previously poured money into the effort to beat Wu in the 2021 mayoral race.
The super PAC has also received high-dollar donations from other influential members of the business community, including $150,000 from John Calnan, chief executive of the construction company J. Calnan and Associates, and $100,000 from Robert Hale, the chief executive of Granite TeleCommunications.
Kraft, as the third son of billionaire Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft, was widely expected to get support from wealthy people in his network as he campaigns against Wu this year.
State law allows individuals to donate no more than $1,000 to a candidate in a calendar year, but super PACs operate with far fewer restrictions, and can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money. However, they are prohibited from coordinating with a campaign.
According to the latest campaign finance report, Wu had nearly $2 million in cash on hand at the end of March. Kraft ended the same time period with a little over $280,000.
A spokesperson for Kraft’s campaign declined to comment for this story. Wu’s campaign and a representative for the Your City, Your Future super PAC did not immediately return a request for comment.
Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold.
