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.