ST. PAUL, Minn. – In an interview with reporters today, U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-West Chester) acknowledged that, should his party lose seats in the House this fall as is widely expected, his leadership position could well come under target from fellow Republicans.

“Listen, it’s the nature of the business,” said Boehner, who recalled a meeting he had with an Indian reservation chief who was facing re-election.

“I said, ‘Chief, you’ve had all these jobs and you’ve got one of the most successful and prosperous Indian tribes in the country. What’s the issue here?’ He looked at me real soberly and said, ‘Everybody want to be chief.’” 

Republican House leaders past and present have been pounding the pavement in this city, home to the Republican National Convention, this week. Boehner, who is in his third year as Republican Leader in the chamber, has been making the rounds. Former Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay have also made appearances.

But the convention has also provided something of a platform for up-and-coming House Republicans, some of whom could take Boehner’s place one day. U.S. Reps. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) were among those here this week.

In the interview, Boehner acknowledged that Republicans faced challenges in House races this cycle. But he also said the landscape had brightened since the party lost a series of special elections earlier this year, and he predicted that Republicans would exceed expectations.

“We are light years ahead of where we were. Light years,” said Boehner. “We’re going to do better than people expect.”

But he acknowledged that Republicans faced a significant hurdle in the fundraising realm. As of Aug. 1, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had a nearly four-to-one cash advantage over the National Republican Congressional Committee.

“The Democrats in Congress have strong armed every lobbyist in town,” said Boehner, explaining the fundraising discrepancy. “It’s really been rather remarkable how aggressive they’ve been.”   

Asked if he would like to see U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) return as chair of the NRCC next cycle, Boehner would only say, “Tom’s done a nice job considering the difficulties we’ve found ourselves in.”