Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) speaks to the crowd at Ohio Republican Sen. candidate Josh Mandel's election night rally in Columbus, Ohio, November 6, 2012.

WASHINGTON/CLEVELAND | Fri Mar 15, 2013 3:45pm EDT

WASHINGTON/CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Senator Rob Portman became the most prominent Republican lawmaker to back gay rights when he reversed his opposition to same-sex marriage on Friday, two years after his son told him he was gay.

In a newspaper opinion piece on Friday, shortly before the Supreme Court is to hear arguments in two key cases on the issue, the Ohio senator said he now supports gay marriage.

"I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn't deny them the opportunity to get married," Portman wrote in an op-ed piece in Ohio's Columbus Dispatch.

"That isn't how I've always felt. As a Congressman, and more recently as a Senator, I opposed marriage for same-sex couples. Then, something happened that led me to think through my position in a much deeper way."

Portman's 21-year-old son, Will, told the senator and his wife in February 2011 that he was gay and had been "since he could remember."

It was the latest show of public support for gay rights. President Barack Obama announced last year that he approved of gay marriage, and in his inaugural speech in January, he equated gay rights with civil rights.

The Supreme Court hears oral arguments later this month in two cases related to gay marriage. One challenges the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. In a related case, the court will also hear arguments that question a California law, known as Proposition 8, banning gay marriage.

Portman was quoted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper as saying he now believes same-sex couples who marry in states where it is legal should be eligible for the same federal benefits granted to heterosexual couples.

Portman served as trade representative and then White House budget director under former President George W. Bush.

He was among the front-runners to be Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick during the 2012 election, but budget hawk Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin eventually got the nod.

PARTY SPLIT

The Republican Party has become increasingly split on the gay marriage issue, with some arguing that socially conservative positions such as opposition to same-sex marriage are contributing to the party's election losses.

An early Republican favorite for the 2016 presidential race, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, staged a defense of traditional marriage in a high-profile speech to a conservative conference on Thursday.

"Just because I believe that states should have the right to define marriage in the traditional way does not make me a bigot," the 41-year-old Cuban-American told the Conservative Political Action Conference.

But Republican strategist John Feehery said Portman's announcement could change attitudes in the party.

"I think so. The fact of the matter is Dick Cheney has been out there on this. Ted Olson, Rob Portman. And what's becoming clear is if you know somebody who happens to be gay, you feel much differently about this issue. The fact is we all know somebody who is gay. So I think this is going to be another indication that times are changing on this issue." he said.

In his op-ed piece, Portman wrote of how he has "wrestled" with reconciling his Christian faith with the desire for his son to have the same opportunities as his siblings.

"Ultimately, for me, it came down to the Bible's overarching themes of love and compassion and my belief that we are all children of God," he said.

Keith Cottrell, 40, an IT professional who lives in Cleveland, said he didn't "see much nobility" in Portman's decision because he only lined up behind gay rights after learning of his son's sexuality.

"I mean I'll gladly take his vote but would we applaud someone who constantly voted against women's rights if they changed their mind after having a daughter?" Cottrell said.

Portman said he consulted clergy members and friends including former Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney, who has an openly gay daughter, has reiterated his support for gay marriage over the past several years, despite his deeply conservative views on many issues.

Bob Vander Plaats, president of the Family Leader, an influential group of social conservatives in Iowa, said Portman had been "short-sighted" for changing his views.

"I don't see the Republican Party any time soon abandoning his stance on marriage. I see more than anything it is emboldened in their stance on marriage," he said. "The last time I checked, God's word was the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow," he said.

Portman's new position was supported by former opponent David Axelrod, who was Obama's senior campaign advisor.

"Courageous decision by Rob Portman to endorse same-sex marriage, guided by the love of a parent rather than by party ideology," Axelrod tweeted.

(Additional reporting by Alistair Bell and Samuel P. Jacobs; Editing by Vicki Allen and Bernadette Baum)

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie claps while giving his State of the State address in the assembly chamber in Trenton, New Jersey, January 8, 2013.

WASHINGTON | Fri Mar 15, 2013 5:10pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is the Republican best placed to compete against potential Democratic presidential candidates, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday that also underscored Democrat Hillary Clinton's strength should she run.

As Republicans gather in the Washington area this weekend to ponder their future after losing the 2012 presidential race, the poll showed how far the party has to go to regain its footing and be competitive at the national level again.

The online survey found that Christie is preferred narrowly when matched up against Vice President Joe Biden, 34 percent to 33 percent, and Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, 36 percent to 32 percent.

Against Clinton, however, Christie fares far worse. The former secretary of state leads by 48 percent to 28 percent.

The brash, portly New Jersey governor has not said whether he will run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

A moderate who was criticized by some Republicans for praising President Barack Obama's response to Superstorm Sandy last year, Christie was not invited to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference this week.

"Christie is really the only one in the head-to-heads who gains any ground against the Democratic candidates - not against Clinton, who seems to be the favorite, although we are so far out that these numbers are very soft," said Ipsos pollster Julia Clark.

Among possible Republican candidates, the leader of the 2016 pack is Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee and 2012 vice presidential running mate for Mitt Romney.

Ryan has been in the news lately for proposing a budget blueprint that would make deep cuts in government spending as a way to balance the U.S. budget in 10 years. The Obama White House has denounced the Ryan budget as draconian.

When Republican and independent voters were asked about which Republican they would vote for in 2016, Ryan took a 22 percent share. Sixteen percent said Christie and 14 percent backed former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is not believed to be running in 2016 at this stage.

Rounding out the field were Florida Senator Marco Rubio at 9 percent, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at 6 percent and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal at 3 percent.

CLINTON VERY STRONG

The poll showed just how strong Clinton's name recognition is less than two months after the former first lady ended her four years as secretary of state.

Clinton leads the Democratic field at 51 percent, far outpacing Biden, who was at 12 percent. She leads all potential Republican challengers by wide margins.

Cuomo, who is said to be considering a run, is way back at 4 percent, as is Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker (4 percent), Virginia Senator Mark Warner (2 percent), Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (1 percent) and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (1 percent).

Clinton has said she wants some time off to rest after her grueling global travel schedule and consider her next move. Medical issues, including a blood clot in her head, complicated the final weeks of her time at the State Department.

A surprisingly strong showing in the poll came from Rice, who was secretary of state for Republican President George W. Bush. She was a well-received speaker at last year's Republican National Convention.

The poll found that she was viewed favorably by 71 percent of Americans, including 80 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of independents.

The survey said 29 percent have an unfavorable view of Rice, who last year was accepted as one of the first women to join the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia where the Masters tournament is played.

For the survey, 1,224 Americans aged 18 and over were interviewed online, including 511 Democrats, 447 Republicans and 162 independents.

The precision of the Reuters/Ipsos poll is measured by a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points for all, 4.9 percentage points for Democrats, 5.3 percentage points for Republicans, and 8.8 percentage points for independents.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Alistair Bell; Editing by Eric Beech)

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Former U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to be Defense Secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 31, 2013. Hagel, 66, is a decorated Vietnam War veteran and a former two-term Republican senator.

WASHINGTON | Sun Feb 17, 2013 6:21pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior Republican senator said on Sunday that party colleagues will drop tactics to delay a vote on former Senator Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary, saying that President Barack Obama's nominee likely has sufficient support to be confirmed into this key post.

"We will have a vote when we get back, and I am confident that Senator Hagel will probably have the votes necessary to be confirmed as the secretary of defense," Arizona Senator John McCain, who has led the opposition against his former Republican colleague, told NBC's "Meet the Press" program.

Democrats, who control the Senate, have scheduled a vote for February 26, after members return from a week-long recess. Republicans held up the nomination last week in a delay characterized as the first time the Senate had used a procedural tactic called a filibuster to block a defense nominee.

With Democrats holding 55 votes in the 100-seat Senate, Hagel's nomination is expected to win the simple majority of 51 votes needed for his confirmation to become the civilian leader at the Pentagon, once such a vote is allowed.

If confirmed, Hagel, a 66-year old decorated Vietnam War veteran, would replace 74-year-old Leon Panetta.

Hagel, who broke from his party as a senator by opposing former President George W. Bush's handling of the Iraq War, has faced withering criticism from Republicans since Obama nominated him on January 7 to be the defense secretary.

Some Republicans have questioned if Hagel is sufficiently supportive of Israel, tough enough on Iran or capable of leading the Pentagon. McCain continued on Sunday to voice concern.

"I don't believe he is qualified. But I don't believe we should hold up his nomination any further because I think it is a reasonable amount of time to have questions answered."

(Reporting By Alister Bull; Editing by Philip Barbara)

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Former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) (L), sits down before giving testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee to be Defense Secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 31, 2013. Hagel, 66, is a decorated Vietnam War veteran and a former two-term Republican senator.

WASHINGTON | Thu Jan 31, 2013 1:06pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - From his lonely position as an early Republican critic of the Iraq war, former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel sometimes lectured his more timid Senate colleagues. "If you wanted a safe job, go sell shoes," he told them.

President Barack Obama's nominee for defense secretary began a Senate confirmation process on Thursday that revived the contentious relations the fiercely independent Vietnam war veteran had with fellow Republicans over his political career.

"I'm proud of my record," Hagel declared before the Armed Services Committee. "I'm on the record on many issues. But no one individual vote, no one individual quote, no one individual statement defines me, my beliefs or my record."

A social conservative and strong internationalist who co-chaired John McCain's failed Republican presidential campaign in 2000, Hagel might have seemed an unlikely pick for Obama were it not for his opposition to the Iraq war launched in 2003 by former President George W. Bush, a Republican.

Opposing that war was the issue on which Democrat Obama also rose to national prominence and he has said that Iraq was not the only matter where he held similar views with Hagel, who was also once touted as presidential material.

"He's a staunch Republican, but Chuck and I agree almost on every item of foreign policy," Obama said in August 2008, a month after joining Hagel on a tour of Iraq.

Hagel's detractors noted he had voted at times against U.S. sanctions on Iran, and said he had made disparaging remarks about the influence of what he called a "Jewish lobby" in Washington.

Hagel rejects the allegations, saying that he had always supported Israel, and if confirmed he would ensure America's military is prepared to strike Iran if necessary.

Hagel has also been critical of the size of the American military, saying in an interview in 2011 that the Defense Department was "bloated" and needed "to be pared down."

Hagel served two terms in the Senate, representing the state of Nebraska, and left in 2008. He is now a professor at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.. He also serves as co-chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board and is a member of the Secretary of Defense's Policy Board.

Since he left the Senate, Hagel has been a big critic of his own party. He told the Financial Times in 2011 that he was "disgusted" by the "irresponsible actions" of Republicans during a fractious debate over raising the U.S. debt-ceiling in 2011.

Last year he endorsed a Democratic candidate for Senate from Nebraska - former Senator Bob Kerrey - instead of Republican Deb Fischer, who won.

Hagel would not be the first Republican to serve Obama as Pentagon chief. Bob Gates, Obama's first defense secretary, was a holdover from his predecessor George Bush.

CLASHES WITH FELLOW REPUBLICANS

While he was in the Senate as a member of the Foreign Relations, Banking, and Intelligence Committees, Hagel often clashed with his party's leaders on foreign and defense policy.

He co-sponsored legislation to ease U.S. trade restrictions with Cuba, and at times voted against trade sanctions on Iran and Libya.

In 2002 Hagel said the U.S. should try to improve relations with the countries Bush had branded an "axis of evil" - Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.

The same year, when Hagel expressed doubts about the Bush administration's buildup to war in Iraq, the conservative Weekly Standard magazine branded him part of an "axis of appeasement." But Hagel did vote to give the president the authority to carry out the March 2003 invasion.

Later Hagel said he regretted that vote and became a persistent critic of the conflict. In January 2007, he was the only Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to support a non-binding measure that criticized Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq.

Hagel told senators they must take a stand on "the most divisive issue in the country since Vietnam," a war in which he had fought, but later decided was wrong. His stance put him at odds with McCain, who also has a reputation as a maverick, and Hagel was pilloried by other Republicans.

Bush's vice president Dick Cheney reflected the view of many in his party when he told Newsweek: "I believe firmly in Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment: thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican. But it's very hard sometimes to adhere to that where Chuck Hagel is involved."

Hagel did not make a public endorsement in the 2008 presidential race, but his wife Lilibet endorsed Obama and sat with Obama's wife Michelle during a presidential debate with McCain.

Hagel skipped the 2008 Republican convention, an important pre-election event, and further irked his party by telling the Omaha World-Herald newspaper that it was a "stretch" to say McCain's running mate Sarah Palin would be qualified to be president.

He had once been considered a contender for the 2008 presidency himself. Instead he said in September 2007 that he was dropping out of politics and retiring from the Senate when his term ended the following year.

Born in 1946, Hagel grew up in Nebraska as the oldest of four boys, and made a fortune by launching a cellphone company in the 1980s. His father was also a military man, a World War II veteran who died of a heart attack when Chuck was 16.

Hagel and his younger brother Tom volunteered for Vietnam, and Hagel saved Tom's life there by pulling him out of a burning vehicle.

In the early 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was president, Hagel served as deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration. (Reporting By Susan Cornwell; Editing by David Storey)

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U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (C) departs the senate floor with an aide after a senate vote in the early morning hours at the U.S. Capitol in Washington January 1, 2013.

CHICAGO | Wed Jan 2, 2013 8:22pm EST

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress prevented hefty tax hikes and spending cuts with a "fiscal cliff" deal this week, but grassroots conservatives are already seeking 2014 primary challengers for high-profile Republican lawmakers who backed the deal.

Few challengers have yet come forward. But fiscally conservative activists irate at Republicans who voted to raise some taxes without cutting spending are casting about for opponents to Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and senators Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.

"Many people here have watched Mitch McConnell's voting record and are dissatisfied with what they've seen," said Eric Wilson, executive director of the Kentucky 9/12 project, a Tea Party group in McConnell's home state. "There are some potential candidates working in the background and doing the right thing" including visiting Kentucky's conservatives to gauge support.

Wilson declined to divulge names, citing McConnell's fundraising prowess that allowed him to amass almost $19 million for his 2008 re-election bid. McConnell could not be reach for comment.

"Anyone who sticks their neck out now will get their head cut off," he added. "But there are definitely people here with real potential."

In the 2010 midterm elections the Tea Party movement took the Republican "establishment" by surprise with high-profile primary victories over more conventional candidates and brought a wave of freshmen to the House of Representatives.

But despite successes in the primaries in 2012, most notably the defeat of Indiana's six-term Republican Senator Dick Lugar by state treasurer Richard Mourdock, conservative candidates fared poorly in the general election.

Tea Party supporters claim 2014 should be different as lower turnout in midterm years allows fiscal conservatives to punch above their weight.

"Presidential politics in 2012 sucked oxygen out of the conversation in local races," said Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, which coordinates with Tea Party groups around the country. "So to us, 2014 looks more like 2010."

After some disastrous showings by Tea Party candidates, most notably Christine O'Donnell in Delaware in 2010 who ended up running a television ad denying she was a witch, conservatives are on the lookout for credible candidates who can run effective campaigns and raise sufficient funds for a general election.

It is reasonable to expect challenges to some Republicans from the right in 2014, said James Henson, a politics professor at the University of Texas in Austin.

"Whether they use the name Tea Party or not is irrelevant," he said. "The DNA of their movement has now been spliced into the DNA of the Republican Party."

'IN MAJOR TROUBLE'

Previous battles in Congress have been marked by Tea Party activists around the country bombarding their elected representatives, mostly Republicans, calling on them to hold the conservative line.

Many did not bother ahead of the fiscal cliff deal, a bipartisan agreement to raise tax rates on incomes of more than $450,000 per household.

"We knew the Republican leadership would cave in," said Debbie Dooley, a coordinator at national umbrella group Tea Party Patriots and a founder of the Atlanta Tea Party. "So we didn't expend a lot of energy on this issue."

Instead, Dooley said activists in her home state of Georgia are focused on educating voters about America's spiraling debt and seeking a replacement for Saxby Chambliss, who was forced into a runoff election in 2008 and only narrowly managed to return to the Senate.

No one has announced a challenge to Chambliss, but Georgia representatives Tom Price and Paul Broun are seen as potential candidates. Chambliss could not be reached for comment.

"If a credible candidate comes forward, then Saxby Chambliss is in major trouble," Dooley said.

In South Carolina, Joe Dugan of the Myrtle Beach Tea Party said there are credible alternatives to Senator Lindsey Graham, including three representatives elected in 2010 who have been reliably conservative on most issues.

"I am over 90 percent certain that if there is a reliably conservative candidate in 2014 he will have my total support," against Senator Graham, Dugan said.

Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity which has backing from the billionaire oil and gas brothers Charles and David Koch, said it is too early to say whether the group will get involved in primary challenges in 2014.

But the group, which raised $140 million in 2012 compared to $51 million in 2011, will focus on educating voters in 2013 on how their representatives voted on the fiscal cliff and the upcoming U.S. debt limit debate.

"We aim to hold elected officials accountable," he said. "Lawmakers will not be judged solely on how they voted on the fiscal cliff, but it is a big vote to get wrong."

Some conservative activists admit they face a steep climb at best if they want to unseat their local Republican representative. The West Chester Tea Party in House Speaker John Boehner's district in southwestern Ohio, for instance, has begun looking for a challenger to him even though he amassed nearly $22 million for his 2012 re-election bid.

"We've been getting emails from around the district and around the country asking if this is the best we can do for a representative," West Chester Tea Party member Ann Becker said. "That's not an easy question to answer."

"It will be a David-versus-Goliath battle if we do find somebody, but nothing is impossible," she added.

Unlike Indiana's Dick Lugar, who refused to recant on key votes that angered Tea Party activists, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch tacked rightward to defeat a primary challenge in 2012.

The University of Texas' Henson said that in the months to come the behavior of Republican lawmakers who voted for the fiscal cliff may show how seriously they take the threat of primary challenges next year.

"We will have to see what kind of compensatory behavior we see from Republicans," Henson said. "I suspect we will see more conservative Republicans try to make up for the fiscal cliff by trying to revert to form on other issues."

(Editing by Alistair Bell and Lisa Shumaker)

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U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) arrives to speak to the media on the ''fiscal cliff'' on Capitol Hill in Washington, December 21, 2012.

WASHINGTON | Wed Jan 2, 2013 8:08pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Speaker John Boehner abruptly reversed course on Wednesday and set a timetable to approve $60 billion in Superstorm Sandy relief, after fellow Republicans including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie heaped scorn on his cancellation of an earlier vote.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives will now vote on Friday on a $9 billion down payment for storm-related support to the National Flood Insurance Program.

Boehner also assured New York and New Jersey lawmakers that the House will take a second vote on January 15 on the $51 billion remainder of the Sandy disaster aid package approved last week in the U.S. Senate.

"This procedure that was laid out is fully acceptable and fully satisfactory. It provides the full $60 billion that we require," said Representative Peter King, a high-ranking House Republican from Long Island, New York.

Earlier, King had condemned Boehner's adjournment of the House before the Sandy vote, saying on the House floor the inaction was "a knife in the back."

Sandy, the second-costliest storm in U.S. history, devastated the northeastern United States on October 29, smashing New York and New Jersey coastal communities.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, seen as a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2016, said the vote's cancellation reflected the "toxic internal politics" of House Republicans.

"There is only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent (storm) victims - the House majority and the speaker, John Boehner," Christie told a news conference in Trenton, New Jersey.

"It is why the American people hate Congress," he added.

Christie tried to telephone Boehner four times after 11:20 p.m, when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told him the vote was canceled. The speaker declined to take his calls, the governor said.

President Barack Obama also made a last-minute overture to Republicans to pass the plan and spoke to both Christie and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo by telephone.

Angry New York and New Jersey lawmakers said the House delay marked a stark contrast to congressional reaction to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Then, a Republican-controlled Congress swiftly approved $62.3 billion in aid just 10 days after the storm devastated the Gulf Coast.

Local officials in battered coastal Long Island communities complained on Wednesday that they could not launch rebuilding projects without knowing aid funds were on the way.

Recreation and senior centers are closed and boardwalks splintered in Long Beach, New York, where $250 million in estimated repair costs far exceed the city's $88 million annual budget.

"We need Congress to pass the bill. That's how we're going to rebuild," said Long Beach spokesman Gordon Tepper.

After reversing course on Wednesday afternoon, Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said in a joint statement: "Getting critical aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy should be the first priority in the new Congress, and that was reaffirmed today with members of the New York and New Jersey delegations."

NOT A GOOD TIME

Boehner had called off the vote on aid after the House passed a budget deal.

But critics complained Boehner should have allowed the House to give final approval to the Senate-passed Sandy rescue package before the current Congress officially ended on Thursday, causing all pending legislation to expire.

Explaining the adjournment without a vote, a Boehner aide said it "was not a good time" to vote on $60 billion in relief spending as Congress dealt with the broad tax measure, which had few spending cuts.

With Boehner facing an internal House Republican leadership re-election on Thursday after a majority of his party members voted against the "fiscal cliff" deal, some Republican lawmakers said a massive, $60-billion spending bill would have been too much to handle.

"It was a horrendous day with some horrific votes that a lot of our conference was very unhappy with," said Michael Grimm, a Republican from hard-hit Staten Island, New York.

Grimm and other New York and New Jersey Republican congressmen said they were satisfied with Boehner's new plan and would support his bid for another term as House speaker.

Even King said late in the day that his earlier vitriol "seems like a lifetime ago."

SHRINKAGE RISKS

But the new plan could still see some Republicans trying to shrink the aid package, as the $51 billion portion may be split into two parts - one for initial needs and another for longer-term projects. Fewer Republicans are likely to support the longer-term funds, but Democrats gained eight seats in the new Congress in November's elections.

Many House Republicans had complained that the Sandy aid bill was loaded with spending on projects unrelated to storm damage or long-term projects that needed more scrutiny.

Among expenditures criticized in the Senate plan were $150 million to rebuild fisheries, including those in the Gulf Coast and Alaska, and $2 million to repair roof damage at the Smithsonian Institution buildings in Washington that pre-dates the storm.

(Reporting By David Lawder, Ian Simpson, Jeff Mason, Hilary Russ and Tom Ferraro; writing by Ian Simpson; editing by Todd Eastham and Philip Barbara)

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