The free-for-all to fill a vacant City Council seat in southern Queens will come down to the wire today (Tuesday).

The ballot of eight candidates is a hodgepodge of community activists, politically connected wanna-bes and a former elected official for good measure.

They are vying for the District 31 seat vacated by James Sanders Jr., who moved to the state Senate when he defeated scandal-torn lawmaker Shirley Huntley in 2012.

The assumed front-runner is Donovan Richards, Sanders’ chief of staff, who had been the lawmaker’s protégé for a bulk of his tenure in the Council.

Sanders (D-Laurelton) has thrown his weight behind Richards, and the candidate has secured several key endorsements, including Local 32 BJ and the Working Families Party.

But the rest of the candidates — Selvena Brooks, Michael Duncan, Allan Jennings, Saywalah Kesselly, Jacques Leandre, Pesach Osina and Marie Adam-Ovide — could all come out victorious on Tuesday.

In a nonpartisan special election, keen political observers say that a mere few hundred votes could be the difference between victory and disappointment.

“In a large field, a relatively small number of votes can win,” Doug Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College, previously told the Daily News about the race.

Despite the brief campaign season, the race has produced ample story lines.

Rosedale-based lawyer Jacques Leandre riled up several of his rivals when he filed suit in January against six of his opponents, trying to get them booted off the ballot. That legal manuever failed in court.

Meanwhile, the truncated election season equated to fast and furious fund-raising for the hopefuls.

In the cash-grab, Richards reigned supreme, raising more than $124,000 for his war chest after including the city’s matching funds program.

Trailing close behind is Pesach Osina, a community liaison to Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder. Osina has more than $113,000 in contributions. He is being billed by some Queens insiders as the dark-horse candidate, especially if he could galvanize his fellow Orthodox Jews in Far Rockaway.

He spent $5,000 in advertising in the 5 Towns Jewish Times, campaign filings show.

“I feel that I’m the best person to represent the 31st District,” said Osina, 34, refusing to detail his position or plans if elected.

Each candidate has been trying to stand out in the packed field.

(Source: NY Daily News)