He’s the comeback kid of Staten Island.
Former Congressman Vito Fossella won the Republican nomination for borough president of the fifth borough on Tuesday — 12 years after leaving politics in scandal.
The seven-term congressman opted not to seek re-election for his House seat in 2008 after a drunk-driving bust in Virginia revealed he was quietly keeping a second family.
But that’s all in the past.
A late entrant to the race in March, Fossella captured 9,306 votes or 50.8 percent to 9,016 votes or 49.2 percent for Councilman Steven Matteo — a 290 vote margin — after absentee ballots were included in the ranked choice voting count.
Fossella told The Post he received a congratulatory call from former President Donald Trump, who backed his candidacy. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani also endorsed him.
“President Trump was gracious enough to support me,” Fossella said.
“We want to do the best possible job for the people of Staten Island. We want Staten Island to have the strongest voice possible. I will make sure Staten Island will not be the forgotten borough.
He added, “It’s all about making Staten Island great again.”
Matteo, who was backed by the island’s Republican Party leadership, issued a statement conceding the contest to Fossella.
“Unfortunately, while it was extremely close, it has become clear that the lead Vito Fossella has built up with absentee ballots is insurmountable and he will be the Republican nominee for borough president,” Matteo said.
“I would like to congratulate him on a hard-fought election.”
Fossella will face off against Democrat Mark Murphy in the general election, along with Conservative Party candidate Leticia Remauro, who came in third in the GOP primary behind Fossella and Matteo.
A Democratic hasn’t won an election for island borough president in four decades and Fossella will likely be considered the favorite in the conservative-leaning borough, despite his baggage.
He reconciled with his wife, Mary Pat.
Murphy, a lawyer, is the son of former Democratic Rep. John Murphy, who served 18 years in Congress before getting caught on videotape taking a $50,000 cash payment in the Abscam sting operation in the late 1970s. John Murphy died in 2015.