ALBANY – The majority leader of the state Senate, Joseph Bruno, is throwing his support behind the upset winner of the Republican primary for the 34th Senate District, John Fleming.

Mr. Bruno disclosed yesterday that the Senate Republican Campaign Committee transferred $75,000 to Mr. Fleming’s campaign account shortly after he defeated Mr. Bruno’s preferred candidate, Assemblyman Stephen Kaufman, on September 14.

Mr. Fleming, who called for Mr. Bruno’s ouster as majority leader during the primary, said he is glad to have the support but will not change his position on the need for new leadership at the Capitol.

Mr. Bruno’s change of heart signaled that Senate Republicans have abandoned their audacious strategy for holding onto the seat formerly occupied by Guy Velella, who resigned shortly before pleading guilty to bribery-related charges in May.

They had backed Mr. Kaufman, a lifelong Democrat, for both the Republican and Democratic nominations, with the understanding that he would join the Republican majority if elected. Mr. Kaufman lost both major party primaries, but remains on the ballot in November as the candidate of the Conservative and Independence parties.

Mr. Fleming, a former New York City police detective “is the Republican candidate; we’re totally supporting him,” Mr. Bruno said yesterday. “Steve Kaufman…is going to have to make the decision he thinks is in his best interests and the people’s best interests.”

A spokesman for Mr. Kaufman, Derek Alger, said his candidate is not dropping out.

“He’s actively in the race, and he’s running to win,” Mr. Alger said. “Parties can do what they want. He’s running on his record, seeking bipartisan support.”

Mr. Alger noted that many voters who did not participate in the primaries are likely to turn out on November 2 to cast their ballots in the presidential election.

The Democratic nominee, Assemblyman Jeffrey Klein, said he was surprised to hear that Mr. Fleming is taking help from Mr. Bruno.

“Fleming’s success in the Republican primary was based on his campaign running against Joe Bruno,” Mr. Klein said. “I would be shocked if he accepts his money. And if he did get money from Joe Bruno, I would think he would return the money.”

Mr. Fleming said he saw no reason not to accept the aid.

“There’s no quid pro quo here,” he said. “I’m not going to give up my reform platform.”

“I’m a Republican, he’s a Republican,” Mr. Fleming said of Mr. Bruno. “I don’t like the way Albany works, but I’m not against the Republican Party. I don’t think there’s a contradiction there.”

Mr. Fleming, who called Mr. Bruno a “boss” during the primary and said he would vote against him as majority leader, said he is not taking back those statements. “I will do whatever it takes to reform Albany,” he said. “That’s the most important issue in this campaign.”

The $75,000 donation from the Senate Republicans roughly doubles Mr. Fleming’s fund-raising total for the campaign so far. But it pales in comparison to the more than $600,000 that Senate Republicans and their supporters funneled to Mr. Kaufman during the primaries.

Also yesterday, Mr. Bruno said that Velella’s early release from Rikers Island, after three months of a one-year sentence, was “a good thing.”

After losing his job and his law license, Velella “has been financially hurt and really publicly disgraced,” Mr. Bruno said of his former colleague. “He served 100 days in jail, and there was not great justice in keeping him behind bars.”

Before Velella’s guilty plea, Mr. Bruno had accused the Manhattan district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, of pursuing the case for political reasons. Mr. Bruno and other Senate Republicans had also donated money to help Velella pay for his legal defense.

Velella was one of a handful of Rikers inmates who got out early this year through the action of the Local Conditional Release Board, a panel whose members were appointed by Mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg. Mr. Bruno and Velella voted with the majority of senators earlier this year to abolish such boards, but the legislation failed in the Assembly. Mr. Bruno said yesterday he would support similar legislation in the future.

Velella, who represented the Bronx in the Legislature for 28 years, pleaded guilty to accepting more than $100,000 in bribes in return for helping companies secure state contracts. His district, which includes parts of the Bronx and Westchester County, is overwhelmingly Democratic, giving Mr. Klein an edge in the general election. If he claims the seat, he would help to narrow the Republicans’ 37-24 majority in the Senate.