Karl Rove Thinks There Could Be A GOP Sea Change On Gay Marriage By The Next Election

Predicting a sizeable party shift more than three years before the next presidential election, Republican strategist Karl Rove said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that he could envision the next Republican presidential nominee supporting gay marriage.

"Karl Rove, can you imagine the next presidential campaign, a Republican candidate saying flat out I am for gay marriage?" ABC host George Stephanopoulos asked him.

"I could," Rove said.

Rove's comments came before a week in which the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on two same-sex marriage cases. It also comes a little more than a week after Ohio Sen. Rob Portman made waves by becoming the first sitting GOP senator to come out in favor of gay marriage. Still, the vast majority of Republicans in Congress are opposed to gay marriage.

Rove went on to predict, however, that the Supreme Court might not be inclined to render a national judgment on the laws being argued — the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8.

"What we may see is a decision here that, in essence, is not a 5-4 decision, but a 6-3, 7-2 [decision] that says leave it up to the states. In fact, we could see an 8-1," he said.

Watch the video of Rove's comments below (they come near the 25-minute mark):