Dan Ryan of Charlestown won decisively in Tuesday’s 2nd Suffolk District state representative Primary Election, defeating Chelsea’s Roy Avellaneda by a margin exceeding 1,100 votes.
Dan Ryan
With no Republican challenger on the ballot, Ryan’s primary victory effectively secures his position in the General Election scheduled for April 1, making Tuesday’s contest the decisive matchup.
Although Avellaneda mounted a vigorous campaign effort in Charlestown, the outcome ultimately hinged on voter participation in Chelsea versus Charlestown, with whichever municipality turned out more voters determining the winner.
Chris Remmes, also from Charlestown, emerged as a distant third, a result that surprised observers given his visible campaign presence and substantial organizational structure.
The districtwide tallies broke down as follows:
•Dan Ryan, 2,290
•Roy Avellaneda, 1,160
•Chris Remmes, 438
Avellaneda had targeted 2,000 votes from Chelsea, though even that figure would have fallen short of victory.
In Chelsea, where turnout reached only 13 percent, Avellaneda secured 1,038 votes despite his intensive local efforts. Admiral’s Hill in Chelsea showed the strongest participation, with more than 300 votes cast there.
Ryan garnered 219 Chelsea votes, an advantage possibly bolstered by endorsements from City Council President Matt Frank.
By contrast, Avellaneda received just 122 votes in Charlestown, below what his campaign had hoped to achieve.
Remmes finished with 359 votes in Charlestown and 79 in Chelsea.
“fblikebutton_button” stated: “wp-caption alignright” “Given the shortness of the campaign and the brutal weather conditions, we knew we had our work cut out for us. We did the best we could to turn out the Chelsea vote. We just came up short this time. I am very proud of my team and our volunteers and what we accomplished in this month-long campaign. I love this town and its people; we are very resilient. I congrulate Dan Ryan on his hard-fought victory and look forward to working with him on the issues that affect the district.”
Ultimately, this brief campaign demonstrated that voter identification and turnout operations proved decisive, with Charlestown demonstrating stronger mobilization capacity than Chelsea.
Ryan will run unopposed on the April 1 General Election ballot.