Chad Ryan gives remarks at Pat Hogan's election night watch party. Credit: Arthur Maiorella | Central Current

Former Syracuse Common Councilor Chad Ryan defeated Tammy Honeywell on Tuesday in the Democratic primary race for Onondaga County Legislature’s 8th District.

Ryan has so far about 56% of the vote to Honeywell’s 44%. While some absentee ballots remain uncounted, Ryan said he is confident his victory is secure.

The victory sets up a general election showdown between incumbent Republican Shawn Fiato and Ryan — in which Ryan hopes to flip a seat vacated by his cousin, Chris Ryan.

Currently, Onondaga County Republicans have a 12 to 5 advantage in the Onondaga County Legislature. 

County Executive Ryan McMahon appointed Fiato to the then-vacant seat in January after Chris Ryan, the legislature’s former minority leader, won a seat in the New York State Senate. 

Early in the night, as initial votes began to be tallied, Ryan emerged with a small lead. He spoke confidently in the moment, and maintained a lead as the results continued to stream in. 

“I think we put better mail together, I think we put better digital together,” Ryan said. “I think we got our message out there, and we ran a good race.”

Honeywell, Ryan’s opponent, is a democratic socialist. Her loss in the tight race came as another self-described democratic socialist, Hanah Ehrenreich, defeated incumbent Common Councilor Amir Gethers.

Elsewhere in the state, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani defeated former state governor Andrew Cuomo in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, an unprecedented victory.

Honeywell has the Working Families Party designation and could run again in the general election. 

At a watch party for mayoral candidate and Common Councilor Pat Hogan, Ryan thanked his voters for turning out to vote for him on such a sweltering summer day. He praised Hogan, who lost to Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens, and paid respect to his opponent in his victory address, commending Honeywell for a hard-fought campaign.

“It’s the first step in our effort to win this seat back to the Democrats. Primaries can be divisive, even among allies and friends, but now is the time to unite,” Ryan said. “We must come together as one team to secure success in November.”

Onondaga County Comptroller Marty Masterpole lauded Ryan before inviting him to the stage.

“His opponent worked incredibly hard,” Masterpole said, “but the seat is going back into the Ryan family.”

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Patrick McCarthy is a staff reporter at Central Current covering government and politics. A graduate of Syracuse University’s Maxwell and Newhouse Schools, McCarthy was born and raised in Syracuse and...