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Gay marriage may be a settled issue in as many as 30 states after Mondays Supreme Court decision, but it still poses an existential threat to many Republican candidates, especially as the calendar turns to the 2016 presidential contest.

As public opinion has sailed toward greater acceptance of same sex unions, Republicans have struggled to finesse the issue, caught between pressure from powerful conservative groups and younger voters who hold more liberal views.

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FOR THE RECORD

An earlier version of this post misspelled the first name of Penny Nance, the chief executive and president of Concerned Women for America.

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The GOP presidential candidates face a particularly delicate dance in early primary states such as Iowa and South Carolina: They must appease theconservative foot soldiers who control those early contests while not alienating middle-of-the-road and younger voters key to their general election hopes.

When the Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for same-sex marriage in 11 states, there was no evidence that conservative groups were backing away from the fight, even if fewcandidates in November's closely contested races and beyond were looking to jump into the middle of it.

Leaders such as Ralph Reed of the Coalition for Faith & Freedom and Penny Nance of Concerned Women for America insisted that the decision would serve as a rallying cry for conservatives in November.

We cannot overemphasize the importance of the upcoming elections, Nance said after the decision. Conservatives must come out to the polls in the upcoming elections in overwhelming numbers and make sure that our elected officials, and the next president of the United States, respect and appreciate the right of the people to define marriage as it has always been throughout our history -- the union between one man and one woman.

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Gay marriage poses a dilemma for many Republican candidates