GOP's Ball drops out of N.Y. con. race

PATTERSON, N.Y., Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Greg Ball, a Republican state assemblyman, said Saturday he has ended his quest to unseat U.S. Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y.

Ball said he will run for the state Senate instead, CQPolitics.com reported.

Ball, a conservative, was headed for a tough GOP primary election showdown in 2010 with Dr. Nan Hayworth, a more moderate Republican who entered the 19th Congressional District race in late September.

Hall, who once was a member off the rock band Orleans, was first elected to Congress in the Hudson Valley district in 2006 when he beat Republican incumbent Sue Kelly.