Portman is still the only Republican supporter of marriage equality in the Senate
Before March 15,
40 41 United States senators had endorsed marriage equality. Since then,
seven six have joined the club:
- Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio
- Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia
- Sen. Jon Tester of Montana
- Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia
- Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri
Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska (Begich was already a supporter.)
- Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina
There's only one Republican name on that list: Rob Portman. He made news because he was the first Republican senator to endorse marriage equality, and he's still the only one. Every senator who has endorsed equality since Portman's March 15 op-ed has been a Democrat.
Overall, 47 senators have endorsed equality. A total of 46 of them are Democrats, leaving nine Democrats in the 53-member bigot caucus. But they are joined by 44 Republicans—every GOP senator not named Rob Portman.
So despite all the RNC spin that Portman's endorsement was a watershed moment proving that the Republican Party has changed, he's actually the exception that proves the rule: They haven't.