Three Assembly Races Thin As One Stays Crowded

In the contested races for Johnston's General Assembly seats, two candidates fell short of collecting the required signatures to make the ballot in Dist. 43, one candidate dropped out of the Senate Dist. 25 race, and all four candidates in the Dist. 44 race surpassed the 50-signature requirement.

Incumbent Democratic Rep. Deborah Fellella avoided a potential primary challenge for the Dist. 43 seat by Annette Berarducci's failure to gather 50 signatures, and Independent Nicole Lyons was unable to qualify for the ballot, according to the Secretary of State's candidate web page. Karin Gorman, an independent, remains in the Dist. 43 contest.

House District 44 features a packed field, with incumbent Rep. Peter Petrarca facing a Sept. 11 primary against fellow Democrat Gregory Costantino. The primary victor will then face an Election Day challenge against Republican James Archer and Independent James D'Ambra.

On the Senate side, Republican Richard Poirier and Democrat Stephen Archambault will square off for the Dist. 22 seat left vacant by Sen. John Tassoni, which now includes part of Johnston.

First-term Sen. Frank Lombardo III (D-Dist. 25) and Democrat Nicole Acciardo qualified for the September primary, which will determine the outcome for the seat. Democrat William J. Murphy did not collect the required number of signatures.