NORWICH – 24th Congressional District candidate Richard Hanna stopped in Chenango County Monday on a campaign sweep through the large, 11-county central New York region that he aims to represent.
The self-made businessman and community volunteer entered the political arena two years ago in a close race that he lost to Congressman Michael Arcuri, D-Utica. With the endorsement of 91 percent of the district’s Republican committees and the backing of the GOP in Washington, he hopes to do better this time around.
If recent media reports are any indication, perhaps it is Hanna’s turn. Time magazine recently named him one of the Republican Party’s top 10 Congressional contenders and someone who could follow in the wake of the Massachusetts Senate victor, Republican Scott Brown. And political analyst Stuart Rothenberg remarked about his thoughtful, down to earth and straightforward approach: “my b.s. meter didn’t go off even once,” the analyst wrote in his March report.
Chenango County Republican Committee Chairman Tom Morrone said the candidate has been much more visible, people know who he is now, and he suspected that he’ll make a different once elected.
“He’s a businessman, he comes from a different angle than Arcuri. People who have met him have been very impressed with him,” Morrone said.
Hanna doesn’t really consider himself a politician or a traditional Republican. He said he entered politics because he felt it was his responsibility. A graduate of Reed College in Oregon, he supported his own family after his father died and later went on to build a successful commercial construction business. As a volunteer, he has been active in many charitable organizations. In 2004, and in cooperation with the Women's Fund, he founded “Annie's Fund,” an organization that helps women make positive changes at critical points in their lives.
Now married with two small children, the candidate said even if he doesn’t win, there is “honor in failing for the right cause.”
“It’s been uphill from the day that I started and it’s only getting steeper. The time spent on my education and career is a downpayment on now,” he said over lunch at Park Place Restaurant in Norwich. The candidate had already visited Raymond Corporation in Greene in the morning and had an appointment set with management at NBT Bank in Norwich for the afternoon.
