Prominent Gay Republicans Helped Smooth the Way for Marriage Bill - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — When the Senate passed landmark authorities past period to mandate national designation for same-sex marriages, the ballot was lauded arsenic a uncommon infinitesimal of bipartisanship astatine a clip of heavy governmental polarization successful the country.

But the constrictive conjugation of 12 Republicans that joined each Democrat successful enactment of the measurement — which cleared Congress connected Thursday with last transition successful the House, sending it to President Biden — did not outpouring up spontaneously successful a groundswell of cross-party harmony.

Behind the scenes, a radical of influential Republican donors and operatives, including immoderate of the party’s astir salient cheery leaders with agelong acquisition prodding their enactment to clasp L.G.B.T.Q. rights, banded unneurotic with the bill’s proponents successful Congress for a coordinated, $1.7 cardinal run to transportation G.O.P. senators that backing it would springiness them a governmental edge.

Their quiescent enactment helps explicate however a measure to guarantee designation of same-sex marriages crossed the state went from being the taxable of an election-season governmental maneuver that fewer expected to beryllium enacted to an inaugural embraced by a decisive bulk of senators, and an unexpected triumph for the cheery rights question that volition beryllium 1 of the last acts of the Democratic-controlled Congress.

“The wrong maneuvering tin lone spell truthful acold without the extracurricular mobilization,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi noted connected Thursday earlier signing the bill, the past authoritative enactment by Congress earlier transmitting it to the White House truthful it could go law.

The propulsion was led by Ken Mehlman, President George W. Bush’s run manager successful 2004 and a erstwhile president of the Republican National Committee who came retired arsenic cheery successful 2010, and Centerline Action, a centrist nonprofit funded by him and Reginald Brown, a lawyer successful Mr. Bush’s White House, among others.

It progressive flooding the telephone lines of Republican senators with calls from constituents who favored the same-sex matrimony measure, presenting them with polling that showed that voters were much apt to enactment a proponent of the measure than idiosyncratic who opposed it, and a nationalist unit run aimed astatine demonstrating wide blimpish enactment for the legislation.

“When this popped successful the House, we instantly went into enactment and reached retired to each of those operatives and supporters and activists who had been engaged successful this contented and benignant of got the pack backmost together,” said James Dozier, the president of Centerline’s board. A erstwhile Republican legislature aide, Mr. Dozier is joined to a antheral and has agelong pressed for same-sex matrimony rights.

The enactment got underway successful July, aft 47 Republicans — a amazingly precocious fig — joined Democrats successful supporting the measure erstwhile it initially passed the House. While the G.O.P. backers amounted to little than a 4th of the party’s contingent successful that chamber, the grade of bipartisanship was capable to alteration the measurement from a specified messaging workout into a superior legislative effort.

But the measure inactive needed astatine slightest 10 Republican supporters to beforehand successful the Senate, wherever 60 votes are indispensable to determination guardant connected astir large legislation, a threshold that has frustrated galore a bipartisan effort.

The legislation’s occurrence has reflected a tectonic displacement successful nationalist sentiment connected the contented of same-sex matrimony that has occurred implicit the past decade, transforming it from a divisive governmental contented into 1 that has go wide accepted by members of some parties. But the Republican strategists down the effort knew that conveying that displacement would beryllium captious to G.O.P. lawmakers who mightiness different inactive respect embracing same-sex matrimony rights arsenic excessively risky.

“Valid and ineligible same-sex matrimony is particularly fashionable among captious voting blocs, similar suburban voters, arsenic good arsenic young and middle-aged voters,” said Alicia Downs, a Republican pollster who conducted state-by-state polling for Centerline. She said much than 60 percent of suburban voters judge same-sex matrimony should beryllium recognized arsenic valid by law.

Mr. Mehlman, moving with Centerline, helped committee the polling successful 9 states wherever they identified Republican senators who could beryllium persuaded to enactment the Respect for Marriage Act but who were publically undecided: Alaska, Missouri, West Virginia, Iowa, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Indiana, Utah and Wyoming.

In Indiana, the information showed that 1 successful 4 voters were overmuch much apt to enactment a legislator successful support. In Iowa, the polling found, 76 percent of voters “are much apt to enactment a legislator who votes for the R.M.A. oregon study nary antagonistic interaction connected their vote.”

The results were shared with the senators from those states and coordinated with a tract run successful which activists mobilized constituents to telephone their senators and explicit enactment for the measure. In total, the radical patched done 30,000 advocacy calls from Republican constituents, hitting 16 Senate offices.

“In my experience, astir important governmental decisions don’t get made conscionable successful Washington,” Mr. Mehlman said. “If you tin instrumentality the pulse of the voters and legislature districts and mobilize activists and others, you’re going to beryllium precise persuasive.”

In the end, astatine slightest 1 legislator from each of the states polled voted for the bill.

Susan Collins of Maine, who was the pb Republican negotiator successful the Senate, credited Mr. Mehlman and the extracurricular group’s efforts with helping to get her enactment implicit the decorativeness line.

“It each helped enactment up our supporters, and it surely helped get america implicit the magic fig of 10,” Ms. Collins said successful an interview. “It made our supporters consciousness little alone, but it besides played a captious relation successful getting america the margin. It gave Republicans who were connected the bubble a consciousness of comfort.”

Mr. Mehlman, who has worked to physique greater acceptance among Republicans for gay- and transgender-friendly policies, besides leaned connected a web of Republicans that helium enlisted successful 2019 to impulse the Supreme Court to state that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 explicitly prohibits favoritism against cheery men, lesbians and transgender radical successful the workplace.

“We person a web of individuals who unrecorded successful these states, are progressive successful these states, who besides judge successful the state to marry,” Mr. Mehlman said. “They were pleased to marque their lawsuit to the senators directly, oregon done op-eds.”

Proponents besides made idiosyncratic appeals for the legislation, with arguments tailored to a blimpish audience. Back successful July, aft it passed the House, Mr. Mehlman and Theodore Olson, a erstwhile solicitor general, published an op-ed successful The Wall Street Journal urging the Senate to travel suit and asserting that “as conservatives we should beforehand state and constricted government. That includes supporting American citizens’ state to wed the idiosyncratic they love.”

The radical took retired a full-page advertisement successful The Journal successful September, publishing a missive signed by 450 salient Republicans supporting the legislation, including Olympia Snowe, the erstwhile Republican legislator from Maine; Tony Fabrizio, the G.O.P. pollster who worked for erstwhile President Donald J. Trump; Ben Ginsberg, the salient Republican lawyer; Mary Cheney, the openly cheery and joined girl of erstwhile Vice President Dick Cheney; Tom Ridge, the erstwhile homeland information caput nether Mr. Bush; and Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts.

Ms. Collins said the effort was critical, particularly due to the fact that of the unit immoderate Republicans were nether to reason the bill.

“What I heard from astatine slightest 1 of my Republican colleagues was that helium had mislaid important enactment among large donors successful his state,” she said.

Perhaps the astir astonishing yes ballot came from Senator Cynthia Lummis, Republican of Wyoming, particularly aft the different Republican legislator from Wyoming, John Barrasso, voted no.

Ms. Lummis, who is simply a subordinate of Trinity Lutheran Church, was pressed by the Wyoming Pastors Network to “reverse course” aft she voted yes connected a important trial ballot that paved the mode for the measure to beforehand successful the Senate. The Wyoming G.O.P. besides admonished her for supporting the bill, which it claimed would endanger the authorities enactment platform.

But Ms. Lummis held fast.

“For the involvement of our federation contiguous and its survival, we bash good by taking this step,” she said connected the Senate level past month, delivering an affectional code astir the request for much tolerance during what she called “turbulent times for our nation.”

Jeremy W. Peters contributed reporting.