Print Continue to article content Queens Borough President Donovan Richards declared victory Tuesday night, after the latest results put him on top by a margin of 50.3 percent. | Mary Altaffer/AP Photo Fossella wins Staten Island borough president primary, Richards leads in Queens Updated Former Rep. Vito Fossella won the Republican primary for Staten Island borough president, while incumbent Democrat Donovan Richards held on to a lead in Queens. Absentee ballots were key in the two razor-thin races. The Board of Elections released updated vote counts Tuesday evening, including a ranked-choice voting tabulation with absentees included. On Staten Island, Fossella — attempting a political comeback more than a decade after he left Congress when it was revealed that he had a secret second family — came out with 50.8 percent of the vote, to 49.2 percent for City Council Member Steven Matteo. A margin of just 290 votes separated the candidates.