Republican challenger Richard Hanna congratulated incumbent Michael Arcuri on Arcuri's re-election to a seat in the 24th Congressional District, during a news conference held in Utica, Wednesday.

“As a first-time candidate, who started with nothing, I am overwhelmingly grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I thoroughly enjoyed,” Hanna said in a news release. “I have no regrets. I enjoyed discussing what's best to move this community forward, sharing my ideas, and hearing the thoughts and concerns of so many.”

Hanna, who ran on the Republican, Independence and Conservative tickets, also thanked his supporters, volunteers, contributors and community leaders for the opportunity.

“I'd like to thank the more than 1,300 individuals who contributed financially to my campaign, the hundreds who volunteered their time, and all the voters in the 24th Congressional District,” Hanna said. “They clearly demonstrated that with the right ideas and the right principles, an outsider still has an opportunity to run an effective campaign against entrenched Washington business-as-usual politicians.”

According to the release, Hanna waited until the majority of the absentee ballots were counted before he conceded. After election night, Arcuri led Hanna by approximately 6,000 votes.

Currently, Hanna has not thought of running again in two years, he said.

“I've got a lot to catch up on and I have other business interests and things. Within the next year, I will think about it,” he said. “Certainly, the interesting thing is that it was the top performing race in the United States against an incumbent who won.”

Hanna hopes the race sends a message to Arcuri that in the absence of opposition, elected officials are able to get away with whatever they want, he said.

“They can go to Washington and do what they like, they can vote outside of the interests of their different ... and I think that's what Arcuri did. I think that when people had a chance to hold his record up to the light of day, they were fairly disappointed,” he said. “The more I got to talk and meet people, the more people got my message, the better we did. I had the right message and the right ideas for the time.”

Hanna is pleased he was able to participate in the democratic process at such a high level, he said.

The fact this was such a close race was not lost on Arcuri, D-Utica, and his campaign, he said.

“I'm very humbled and very honored that people in the 24th district had the faith and re-elected me for another two years,” he said. “I want to reassure my constituents, those who voted for me and those who voted for my opponent, that I'm going to redouble my efforts to focus on issues that are important to all of them and serve them better and more effectively.”

Arcuri believes the race was so close because he and Hanna had similar positions on a lot of the key issues. When a moderate Democrat and a moderate Republican run in a moderate district such as the 24th Congressional District, it will be a close race, he said.

Arcuri said he will focus on things that were done right as well as what can be improved. Some of his top priorities will include the economy, healthcare and energy.

“We're going to continue to work hard and spend a lot of time in the district,” he said. “We're going to a better job of focusing on the issues that are important to the district ... I'm going to continue to fight as hard as I can for the people of our district.”

Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net