House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said today he regrets backing former GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava for New York's 23rd district race. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Boehner regrets Scozzafava support

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said today he regrets backing former GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava for New York's 23rd district race.

"This lady clearly has an agenda that's different than most Republicans," Boehner said of Scozzafava, who dropped out of the race Saturday. "She was out there promoting herself and we're doing everything we can to help Doug Hoffman in this race and we hope he wins."


Boehner's support of Scozzafava was a gamble. He donated $5,000 to her campaign and threw his weight behind her when some conservative Republicans considered her too liberal for the GOP.

"She'd fit in just fine," Boehner said in early October. "I've contributed to her election, and we're urging all of our members to help bring this race home."

But if Hoffman wins tomorrow night, Boehner and Republicans say they'll gladly accept him into the GOP conference.