CNN asked all 50 GOP senators if they will support the same-sex marriage bill. Here’s where they stand.

By CNN

Published July 18, 2022 7:47 am

CNN

By Ali Zaslav, Manu Raju, Ted Barrett, Morgan Rimmer, Jessica Dean and Kristin Wilson, CNN

Ten GOP senators are needed to join all 50 Democrats in order to overcome a legislative filibuster in support of the House-passed bill to codify same-sex marriage into federal law. CNN asked all 50 Republicans where they stand on the legislation.

It’s not yet clear how many Republicans will support the bill, but GOP and Democratic senators said Wednesday they expect it could eventually win the 60 votes needed.

Here’s what we found:

Five Republican senators, so far, have either said they will support or will likely support the House-passed same-sex marriage bill, and that includes: Rob Portman of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin (likely), Lisa Murkowski of Alaska (likely) and Thom Tillis of North Carolina (likely).

Eight Republican senators, so far, have indicated they would vote “no,” and oppose the same-sex marriage bill.

Fifteen Republican senators, so far, are undecided or did not indicate support for the House-passed bill.

Twenty-two Republican senators have yet to respond to CNN’s inquiries.

YES

Susan Collins of Maine is a yes on the bill. She’s one of the co-sponsors of the legislation.
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is likely a yes on the legislation. She said she is open to hearing more about it, and expressed her support for keeping same-sex marriage legal. “I have suggested to others that not only would I like to see Roe, Casey, and Griswold on contraception codified but I’ve also made clear my support for, for gay marriage years ago,” she said. “So I will look at what the House is doing and see what that might mean here on the Senate side.”
Rob Portman of Ohio is a yes on the bill. He said holding a vote on this issue sends an “important message,” and that it’s “obvious” Republican views have changed over time. He noted that his “own personal views on this changed” over time. Portman publicly announced his support for same-sex marriage after his son came out a few years ago.
Thom Tillis of North Carolina told CNN that he “probably will” support a bill codifying same sex marriage if it comes to the Senate floor.
Ron Johnson of Wisconsin released a statement on Thursday indicating he could support the proposal. “Even though I feel the Respect for Marriage Act is unnecessary, should it come before the Senate, I see no reason to oppose it,” Johnson said.

NO

Bill Cassidy of Louisiana suggested he’s a no on the bill. He argued it is a “silly messaging bill.” “It’s a pure messaging bill. I mean, it’s obviously settled law right now,” Cassidy said. “This is a pure messaging bill by a party which has failed on substantive issues, be it inflation, crime or the border, and now are looking for cultural issues in order to somehow do better in November.” Asked if he would vote for it, Cassidy wouldn’t answer. “It’s such a silly messaging bill, I’m just not going to address that.”
John Cornyn of Texas told CNN he is a no on the legislation.
Ted Cruz of Texas suggested he’s a no on the bill. Cruz, who has publicly disagreed with the Supreme Court’s ruling to legalize same-sex marriage, said Wednesday that he doesn’t believe there is enough Republican support to pass legislation codifying it. “I doubt it,” he said. “If there’s a vote, we’ll see where the votes are.” Asked how he would vote, Cruz dodged, saying: “I support the Constitution and letting the democratic process operate.”
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told CNN he is a no on this bill. He said, “I’ll support the Defense of Marriage Act” — which is what the House-passed bill would repeal.
Josh Hawley of Missouri is a no on the legislation, according to his office.
Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma said he’s a no on the bill. “Any attempt by Sen. Schumer to bring up legislation codifying same-sex marriage in the Senate would clearly be an attempt to distract from the Democrats’ failed agenda. That said, my views on marriage have not changed and I would not support codifying same-sex marriage into law,” Inhofe said in a statement to CNN.
Marco Rubio of Florida told CNN he is a no on the legislation, saying it’s a “stupid waste of time.”
Roger Wicker of Mississippi told CNN he’s likely a no on the bill. “I’d probably be a no,” he said, adding: “I do not believe the Supreme Court is going to touch this issue.”

UNDECIDED OR DID NOT INDICATE SUPPORT FOR

Richard Burr of North Carolina is undecided. He told CNN on Wednesday that he has not seen the bill yet, when asked whether he’d vote for it.
Roy Blunt of Missouri told CNN he isn’t sure and wants “look at it and see.” He also raised the question, “What do we feel obligated to do next?” if the Senate does codify same-sex marriage into federal law. He added: “I don’t have any problem with same-sex marriage, but I’m not sure — I want to look at the legislation.”
Mike Braun of Indiana told CNN on Wednesday he’s going to wait until the bill is brought to the Senate floor, then he’ll look at it.
Joni Ernst of Iowa is keeping an open mind about the same-sex marriage legislation, and she’ll review the bill should it come before the Senate, according to a spokesperson from her office.
Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming said she’s waiting to read the legislation.
Rand Paul of Kentucky said he hasn’t had a chance to look at it yet.
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was noncommittal on Tuesday when asked whether he’d vote to in support of the House bill that would enshrine protections for same-sex marriage into federal law, saying, “I’m gonna delay announcing anything on that issue until we see what the majority leader wants to put on the floor.”
Mitt Romney of Utah was noncommittal on the bill, telling CNN that the same-sex marriage bill “is not something I’ve given consideration to at this stage” since “I don’t see the law changing.”
Mike Rounds of South Dakota said he hasn’t looked at the bill. “I already think that the fact that we’ve got eight to one on the Supreme Court that indicated that it’s not coming up, probably makes it a moot question to begin with,” he said. Asked how he feels about same-sex marriage in general, he responded: “I think there’s a difference between matrimony as a sacrament and a legal marriage and so if someone wants to do that type of partnership, I’m not opposed to it.”
Rick Scott of Florida told CNN he wants to wait and see, but believes the Supreme Court has already decided this, when asked if he’d support the bill.
Dan Sullivan of Alaska told CNN he “has to review” it. He noted that he accepts the Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
John Thune of South Dakota, the GOP whip, told CNN he will take a “hard look” at the bill, even though he has previously opposed same-sex marriage. Thune said he expects the legislation will have similarly strong GOP support in the Senate as it received in the House. “As you saw there was pretty good bipartisan support in the House yesterday and I expect there’d probably be the same thing you’d see in the Senate,” he said. Thune also contended the bill is an effort to distract from economic issues and high inflation ahead of the midterms. Asked if his own views have changed, Thune wouldn’t say explicitly. “I got a view on that, that goes back a long ways. But I also respect the decision that was made by the Court in 2015,” Thune said.
Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said he hasn’t looked at the bill yet, when asked whether by CNN whether he’d vote for it.
Tommy Tuberville of Alabama told CNN on Wednesday he’d like to wait and look at the entire bill. “But I think people ought to have freedom to do what they want. It’s free country,” he said.
Todd Young of Indiana said he hasn’t read it. “The details are really important. Yeah, so feel more comfortable answering that after I’ve read the legislation,” he said, when asked how he’d vote on the measure.

WAITING ON RESPONSE

John Barrasso of Wyoming – CNN has reached out to his office.
Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee – CNN has reached out to her office.
John Boozman of Arkansas – CNN has reached out to his office.
Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia – CNN has reached out to her office.
Tom Cotton of Arkansas – CNN has reached out to his office.
Mike Crapo of Idaho – CNN has reached out to his office.
Kevin Cramer of North Dakota – CNN has reached out to his office.
Steve Daines of Montana – CNN has reached out to his office.
Deb Fischer of Nebraska – CNN has reached out to her office.
Chuck Grassley of Iowa- CNN has reached out to his office.
Bill Hagerty of Tennessee – CNN has reached out to his office.
John Hoeven of North Dakota – CNN has reached out to his office.
Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi – CNN reached out to her office.
John Kennedy of Louisiana – CNN has reached out to his office.
James Lankford of Oklahoma – CNN has reached out to his office.
Mike Lee of Utah – CNN has reached out to his office.
Roger Marshall of Kansas – CNN has reached out to his office.
Jerry Moran of Kansas – CNN reached out to his office.
Jim Risch of Idaho – CNN reached out to his office.
Ben Sasse of Nebraska – CNN reached out to his office.
Tim Scott of South Carolina — CNN reached out to his office.
Richard Shelby of Alabama – CNN reached out to his office.

This story has been updated with additional developments Thursday.

Article Topic Follows: CNN - US Politics

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