Stefano V. Famiglietti blew out the competition in a Democratic primary to fill the legislative seat that had belonged for over 40 years to former state Senate president Dominick Ruggerio, who died in April.
Famiglietti won over 70 percent of the votes cast in the district, according to unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections. The district is centered in North Providence and stretches over the city line into the Wanskuck neighborhood of Providence.
Famiglietti, a personal injury lawyer who serves on North Providence’s Town Council, had won endorsements from a coalition of Rhode Island’s labor unions and the district’s Democratic committee, which included Ruggerio’s sister.
All three of Famiglietti’s opponents had political experience or connections in the district.
Marcia Ranglin-Vassell, a schoolteacher who’d served as a state representative in the area, finished second with 13% of the votes. Lenny Cioe, a nurse who’d come close to beating Ruggerio in a 2020 primary, won less than 12% of the votes this time around.
Manuel J. Taveras, a brother of former Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, finished last.
The scheduling of the special primary election left less than three months for the candidates to campaign following Ruggerio’s death.
Famiglietti will face the sole Republican candidate, Alexander Asermely, who is also a personal injury lawyer, in a general election on Aug. 5. The winner of the general election will serve the rest of Ruggerio’s two-year term, through 2026.
