Richards Narrowly Leads Queens Borough President Early Results

QUEENS — Incumbent Queens Borough President Donovan Richards has taken an early, narrow lead as the first-choice, in-person votes roll in for Queens Borough President.

As of Wednesday morning, Richards led the early results with 41.5 percent of the vote, trailed closely by Elizabeth Crowley at 40.2 percent. Longtime Long Island City City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer trailed in third with 17.5 percent of the vote, with over 95 percent of scanning machines reported.

With Richards and Crowley neck-and-neck it is unlikely that any one candidate will secure a majority of first-place votes, meaning that the Queens Borough President seat will likely be decided by the second-place votes cast by voters who ranked Van Bramer first.

Wednesday's results include only the first-choice, in-person votes cast in Queens. Final results will not be known until mid-July, when absentee ballots have been counted and voters' second through fifth choices have been factored into the ranked-choice calculation.

Richards, Crowley, and Bramer were the only candidates on the ballot for borough president, vying for a seat currently held by Richards, who took office in 2020 after a special election.

The close primary race mirrors the closely contested special election last year, where Richards beat Crowley by less than 10 percent of the vote.

While partly ceremonial, borough presidents' duties include issuing recommendations on land use proposals that can influence their fate. They also control a sizable budget that they can use to fund local projects.