Hmm: NY Democrat Might Back Boehner for Speaker?

What to make of this? Is a possible party switch in the works? Color me skeptical, but intrigued: Owens is a fairly doctrinaire liberal, who voted with Pelosi 93 percent of the time in the last Congress, including a 'yes' on Obamacare. Then again, he owes his seat to a fortuitous split conservative vote in both 2009 and 2010, and he represents a strongly Republican district. Interesting:

Will GOP leader John Boehner get a Democratic vote for House speaker?
Rep. Bill Owens told a local newspaper in upstate New York that it is "quite possible" he might vote for Boehner for the House's top job or abstain.
Boehner was endorsed last week by his Republican colleagues to replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi for speaker. Owens was one of 150 Democrats who voted to keep Pelosi as their leader, despite the party's huge midterm election losses.
Last year, Owens won a special election in a New York district that had been controlled by Republicans since 1872.

To Townhall readers who are smarter than I am: How do you square the two bold quotes?