Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), is resisting calls from conservatives for the GOP to campaign on its opposition to marriage equality.

A day after the Supreme Court punted on the issue, effectively legalizing such unions in 11 states, Priebus appeared on cable news network MSNBC's The Daily Rundown, where he reiterated the party's opposition to marriage equality.

“We've been pretty consistent and clear. We believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman. I'm not running from that position. That's our position on it and it's still the position today,” Priebus said.

“So would you counsel Republican candidates to run on this issue this fall? Why not make it a bigger issue right now, if that's what you believe?” host Peter Alexander asked.

“For the fall, I think this is about the economy,” Priebus answered. “It's about Obamacare. It's about what plans Republicans are going to put forward to get our spending under control and do something in Washington and it's about governor's races and about how to get state budgets under control and get people back to work.”

“So, I don't think it's a top-tier issue for the midterms,” he added.

Republican leaders have been slow to respond to the dramatic changes on the issue, leaving social conservatives fuming, including former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who has threatened to abandon the GOP over its weak response.

Meanwhile, three groups opposed to gay rights are having little success calling on the GOP to drop its support for three Republican candidates who have endorsed marriage equality.

(Related: Ted Cruz vows to introduce federal amendment banning gay marriage.)