South Ender is last candidate standing in House special election

The field of candidates for an open House seat representing Boston's South End and part of Dorchester has narrowed to a single candidate two weeks ahead of the special primary election.

Amparo "Chary" Ortiz appears to have dropped out of the contest for the Ninth Suffolk District, leaving Biogen employee John Moran as the lone hopeful still in the running.

Ortiz did not immediately respond to a News Service inquiry on Tuesday, but Moran praised her in a press release announcing she had "suspended her campaign" and the Boston Globe quoted a statement from Ortiz saying she backed away "to attend to personal and family matters."

No Republicans qualified for the ballot, leaving an easy path to victory for Moran, a housing advocate from the South End who works as Biogen's associate director for business operations, now that his route through the Democratic primary has cleared.

Moran is vying to succeed former Rep. Jon Santiago, who resigned just weeks into the 2023-2024 term to join Gov. Maura Healey's administration as the state's first Cabinet-level secretary of veterans' services.

Voters will also pick a new representative for the 10th Suffolk District that stretches from Jamaica Plain to West Roxbury and parts of Brookline, which was last held by former Rep. Ed Coppinger. He resigned for a job at the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.

Bill MacGregor of West Roxbury, Robert Patrick Orthman of Roslindale and Celia Segel of Jamaica Plain, all Democrats, are on the ballot for that May 2 special primary election. Whoever wins the primary will advance to the May 30 special general election with no Republican opponent.