Pre-election polls showing Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft lagging well behind Mayor Michelle Wu proved prescient in the city’s preliminary election Tuesday.

Wu took the top spot Tuesday with 72% of the vote, compared to Kraft’s 23.1%, according to unofficial tallies. The result was remarkably close to that of an Emerson College poll published last week, which showed Wu leading Kraft 72% to 22%, a 50-percentage-point margin.

That poll showed an even higher margin than one conducted by the Boston Globe and Suffolk University in July, which showed Wu with a 30-point advantage .

Both candidates will move on to the general election on Nov. 4, when voters will ultimately decide who will lead Boston for the next four years.

Kraft told supporters Tuesday night that he was “still in th

See Full Page