By Jonathan Allen, CQ Staff

A well-funded challenger to freshman Democratic Rep. John Hall dropped out of the race Thursday afternoon, leaving Republicans scrambling to find a candidate to reclaim New York’s Hudson Valley-based 19th District.

Andrew Saul, who put together nearly $800,000 for his campaign, cited “personal reasons” in a brief release announcing his decision.

Hall, who wrote the hit song “Still the One” for his 1970s rock band, Orleans, defeated longtime Republican Rep. Sue W. Kelly, 51 percent to 49 percent, in 2006. CQ rates the race “Leans Democratic.” But President George W. Bush beat Democratic nominee John Kerry , 53 percent to 45 percent, in the district in the 2004 race for the White House, and Hall is considered to be one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents.

The first-term incumbent already has topped $1 million in fundraising, which could be a deterrent to possible GOP challengers. They may also be wary of running in a presidential election year in which the GOP could have a conservative Republican atop the ticket and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton could drive Democratic voters to the polls, if she is the nominee.

Several Republican names surfaced immediately as possible standard-bearers for the GOP in the district. The list of potential contenders includes state Sen. Vincent Leibell, Assemblyman Greg Ball, Orange County Executive Ed Diana and Michael Finnegan, an investment banker and longtime aide to former New York Gov. George E. Pataki, according to a Republican operative and interviews conducted by CQ Politics.

“I will be running for the congressional seat, but I haven’t made a decision yet whether that is this year or in a future year,” Ball told CQ Politics. “When I decide to run for a seat, I give it 110 percent and I intend to take John Hall out with a grassroots movement that will be able to overcome any blue tsunami that’s out there. When I decide to run, he’ll know it and everyone else will know it.”

But Ball is concerned about the electoral outlook for the GOP in the 2008 election cycle.

“George Bush has not only hurt the Republican Party, he’s left the nation without leadership,” the Republican state lawmaker said. “It’s going to be a tough year to run as a Republican at the national level.”

Leibell declined to take himself out of the mix.

“Right now, I’m running for the Senate. I don’t think anything gets ruled out.”

He said the party is likely to try to consolidate support behind one candidate to avoid a rough primary fight.