The race for the 23rd Congressional seat was as hard and as brutal as any election we've seen in our area. But former Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava says hard and brutal is an understatement. Thursday, she sat down with our Brian Dwyer for a very candid conversation about her experiences in this campaign.

GOUVERNEUR, N.Y. – "I was called a child killer. Rush Limbaugh indicated I should be arrested for the crime of bestiality because I screwed so many RINOS. I have been called an incoherent buffoon. All language from my own party," said Dede Scozzafava.

No question she's tired and worn down. But surprisingly, Scozzafava is still relatively upbeat.

"If I could show black and blue spots, I'd have a lot of them. But at the end of the day, I know who I am and I know what I stand for," Scozzafava said.

So where did it all go wrong for the woman many considered a shoe-in just weeks ago? Scozzafava says it actually started from day one. A conversation she had with Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long in Lake Placid.

"He pretty much said he couldn't support my candidacy because of marriage equality and my vote on marriage equality. I knew then I wasn't going to have the Conservative line and I understood that. But to take that one issue and then create a storm all about that one issue, I wasn't anticipating that," said Scozzafava.

And that, along with people like Rush Limbaugh connecting her with ACORN, which she strongly denies, sealed her fate, both with her party and Congress.

"When you look at what happened in Washington, it's pretty evident there was hesitance to get supportive of my candidacy. In other races, usually Washington gets involved quickly," Scozzafava said. "The talk shows, the people that were saying things about me. It was lies and I didn't see anyone out there jumping and coming to my defense to any of these points, except Newt Gingrich."

Then even after she dropped out of the race, she still made, quite possibly, the biggest splash of all. Deciding to support the democratic candidate, Bill Owens. A decision she says came after looking back on the conversations and realizing Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman didn't know enough about local issues and supported far right ideals that wouldn't work in this district.

"I wouldn't make that type of decisions putting my own political future in risk or peril unless it was something that I sincerely believed in," Scozzafava said.

A decision that, as you could guess, came with more backlash from fellow Republicans, who were now openly endorsing Hoffman.

"That to me is hypocritical. If I am going to be accused of supporting a candidate other than a Republican, what about the Republicans that supported the candidate that ran on the Conservative line?" Scozzafava asked.

Many Republicans believe Dede Scozzafava will soon become a Democrat, and maybe already is, and that's why she supported Bill Owens. But Scozzafava says she's a Republican and always hopes to be one, no matter what they do or did.

One more note on Scozzafava's future. Her seat on the State Assembly comes up again next year and she's not sure yet if she will run for re-election.