But in the past few weeks, Republican officials in the 19^th Congressional District, which covers suburban counties north of New York City, have revolted from the directives from Washington and begun hunting for an alternative.

Several names have emerged as potential Hayworth challengers, among them David McFadden, a former mayor of Tuxedo Park, a wealthy village near Poughkeepsie, and Neil Di Carlo, a chief compliance officer on Wall Street who lives in Putnam County.

While both are coming late to a race where Hayworth has already reported $318,000 in funding, the county chairs say they are strong options.

“He’s got a ton of money, he’s got experience. 'I know the guy,” said William DeProspo, GOP chair of Orange County, about McFadden.

State Senator Vincent Leibell’s name has also been floated as a potential entrant into the race. Leibell faces a bruising primary against Ball, who announced a challenge to his seat after dropping out of the Congressional race. However, he has consistently denied his interest.

As recently as last week, some county chairs, unhappy with Ball’s change of heart, said they were even hoping they could coax him back into the race.

“We have to wait until the dust settles,” said Vincent Reda of Rockland County. “We don't know if he's out of it for sure.”

The county chairs say their main misgiving about Hayworth is her lack of political experience. But a personal dispute is playing into it as well: Hayworth hired John Hicks, the former party chair of Orange County, as her campaign advisor. Hicks is embroiled in a long-term dispute with DeProspo, who helped oust him. DeProspo says that by choosing Hicks, Hayworth has displayed her political naiveté and an unwillingness to fit in with the local G.O.P. team.

“I think that the NRCC has looked at [Hayworth] on paper,” he said.' “They have their own goals and benchmarks and guidelines…what they really, really like about her is that she has a lot of money.”

The chairs are challenging the claim that Hayworth is a viable challenge to Hall, towards whom the NRCC has been directing a lot of firepower in recent weeks. The chairs say Hayworth’s country-club image will not play well in more blue-collar counties north of her native Westchester County.

However, many local Republicans say Hayworth has a good shot at winning. She is pro-choice—her husband is an OB-GYN—but has painted herself as a tough fiscal hawk and is a member of the Club for Growth. She is the pick of Sue Kelly, the former seven-term Republican congresswoman, who says that Hayworth is the GOP’s best candidate in such a moderate district. Several local electeds say that having a Republican candidate from Westchester will be an advantage to the party, since Westchester voters tend to favor Democrats more than those in nearby counties but are also likely to respond to a GOP candidate from their own area.

Local political insiders predict that a fight between the chairs and the NRCC could play out publicly.

“I think what you’re going to see is the five county chairs getting behind somebody and everybody else dropping out,” said one local political insider. “The NRCC is probably going to get into it too, saying they’re not going to provide funding if it’s not a candidate that can win the district.”

This is not the first time that the local parties and the Washington Republicans have tangled over a Congressional seat. At the beginning of the year, the national party hand-picked Assembly minority leader Jim Tedisco to run in the race to replace Kirsten Gillibrand, over the objections of local officials. Tedisco lost in an upset.

“There was a lot of fighting behind the scenes that has hopefully been taken care of. The fact that the county chairs are getting together to nip it in the bud is a sign that they've learned their lesson,” said a local Republican politician.' “The NRCC doesn't have any money to help out anyway.' The local chairs are going to have the final say.”

The NRCC, which does not endorse candidates in a primary, is enthusiastically backing Hayworth until further notice about other Republicans in the race.

“She’s proven she can raise money; she’s proven she can generate excitement in the district and in Washington,” said Tory Mazzola, a spokesman for the organization. “The best way to win this district is with a candidate who can bring people together.”'