"The first and most obvious question is, how can you say you're not fighting same-sex marriage immediately after you appeal a decision to strike down the same-sex marriage ban in our state?" Pocan said. "It seems as though Scott Walker's trying to have it both ways. He's trying to leave the door open for his presidential ambitions, because he can see the writing on the wall and he knows the national Republican Party message is a loser in 2016."

The Republican Party's official platform, as adopted in 2012, endorses an amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining marriage as "one man and one woman." It also formally supports efforts to make the same change to state constitutions.

But after the 2012 election, the RNC commissioned a study on reasons for its losses, particularly the presidency. The report doesn't call for the party to embrace marriage equality, but it does call for a shift in attitude and rhetoric.