Quotation Of The Day: Tim Johnson On Same-Sex Marriage Watch

From David Weigel at Slate:

Carper's evolution reduces the Senate's number of gay marriage Democratic hold-outs to seven: Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly, North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson, Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, and Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor. In what order will they evolve? To know this we need to put them into teams.

Senators retiring next year: Johnson

Senators up for re-election next year: Landrieu, Pryor

Senators not up for re-election until 2018: Donnelly, Heitkamp, Manchin, Nelson

Senators from states that have voted for Obama at least once: Donnelly, Nelson

Looks like Johnson would raise his hand next, right? Hard to say: His son Brendan may run for his U.S. Senate seat, and having a parent weigh in would lock him into a position he might not hold or want to hold. Nelson's got the smallest amount of risk—you'd think some 2018 Miami donors are going to ask him about marriage rights—so I bet he falls next. Landrieu and Pryor have the most to lose, sure, but to what degree can they alienate the gay/gay-friendly donor class leading in 2014? I'd put them on the bubble.[Emphasis Mine]