BOSTON— The political class wants you to believe it’s already over. Emerson College just dropped a poll claiming Mayor Michelle Wu is cruising toward a landslide — 72 percent for Wu, just 22 for Josh Kraft.

But polls don’t capture the fury boiling in Boston’s neighborhoods. This week, South End residents packed a community meeting where frustration with Wu’s handling of the Mass and Cass crisis spilled into the open. In Roxbury and Dorchester, locals are sounding the same alarm: the streets are unraveling, addiction is rampant, and City Hall’s answer is more needles and more denial.

And yet, the same media outlets that ignore these voices are racing to crown Wu queen of Boston before a single ballot is cast. It’s the same smug chorus we’ve seen before — progressives propping her up while sneering at anyone who dares dissent.

Tiny poll, big spin

The fine print? The poll surveyed just 555 likely voters. In a city of nearly 700,000 registered voters, that’s a statistical drop in the bucket. Call it what you want, but it’s not a mandate.

We’ve seen this movie before. In 2024, Kamala Harris was supposedly cruising to a landslide according to pollsters. Voters had other plans.

Polls oversample the young, the online, the loudest voices — not the residents in Dorchester, Roxbury, Hyde Park, and Eastie who are staring down the reality of Boston’s decline.

Residents not happy with direction of the city

Residents are furious. At the South End meeting, business owners begged for relief. In Roxbury, mothers talked about fearing for their kids walking to school. Dorchester neighbors spoke about feeling abandoned while Wu poses for glossy photo ops.

None of that makes it into a crosstab. None of it is reflected in the breathless headlines about Wu’s “inevitable” win.

The only poll that counts

The preliminary election is next Tuesday. That’s when we’ll see if Wu’s sky-high numbers are real — or if Boston’s silent majority has had enough.

Because here’s the truth: pollsters don’t vote, residents do. And the outrage pouring out of neighborhood meetings in the South End, Roxbury, and Dorchester tells a story you won’t find in a 555-person survey.

Wu can smile at the podium, wave off the anger, and pose for the cameras — but the only numbers that matter will be counted in the ballot box.

So don’t sit this one out. Don’t let pollsters or pundits decide the race for you. Show up. Vote. Make it count.