thats because Democrats are largely impotent whereas republicans have let fringe hateful ideas become their platform. If one person in the room smells like shit, can you blame other people for taking a step away?
In 2001, 23% of Republicans/Republican-leaning Americans supported same-sex marraige. By 2019, it was 44%. Among white evangelical protestants specifically, it was 13% and rose to 29%.
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/changing-att...
It's true that Republicans have moved more toward same-sex marriage.
However, it also seems to be true that the legalization of same-sex marriage has politically activated many Republicans who are still opposed to same-sex marriage.
When same-sex marriage was not legal, those opposed to it could remain fairly complacent. It was the status quo and wasn't an issue where they felt the need to engage in political activism. The most outspoken people were those in favor of same-sex marriage. But when same-sex marriage was legalized, there was an almost complete reversal, in terms of activism.
So today it feels like Republicans are more opposed to same-sex marriage, even if the raw numbers say otherwise. But perhaps the raw poll numbers don't reflect the level of enthusiasm or activism regarding the issue.
I think this is actually a general point: the level of political activism regarding any issue tends to be highest among those who feel threatened. So ironically, the level of activism opposed to same-sex marriage, for example, becomes higher as that view tends to wane in public popularity. A powerful overwhelming majority, on the other hand, doesn't need to make much effort to maintain its status.
That data shows only that republicans’ support of gay marriage follows the same trend as democrats’, at a lower level. That indicates to me a cultural shift for this single issue more than a political one.
The data in the article below paints a different overall picture, though I went to the source and did not find the information on what their metrics were for the liberal / moderate / conservative spectrum. It’s likely in their downloadable data sets but I am on mobile.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/28/what-elon...