Frias Wins Dist. 15 Primary, Will Challenge Speaker Mattiello in November

CRANSTON, RI—Republican Steven Frias will be challenging Democrat and Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello this November after handily defeating Shawna Lawton in the Dist. 15 Republican Primary on Tuesday night.

Frias, a lawyer at the Boston law firm Keegan Werlin LLP, has the support of the state GOP and was expected to win the primary fairly easily, especially after his opponent refused to debate and ran a campaign with much fewer resources.

Through the race, Frias supporters have suggested Democrats have been trying to undermine his campaign. Just before the election, GOP Chairman Brandon Bell said Mattiello supporters were lining up to vote for Lawton in the hopes of ending Frias' campaign and making the Speaker's reelection bid a cakewalk.

Frias was leading Lawton 77.3 to 22.7 percent, or 250 votes with three of the four precincts in Dist. 15 reporting results as of 8:40 p.m., according to the state Board of Elections.

For more election results, go HERE.