At the hustings all five party leaders expressed backing for a gender neutral passport.
Five Republicans defected to support the measure's advance after Senator Scott Brown expressed backing for the Democrats' bill.
About 2 in 10 told interviewers for a consortium of five television networks and The Associated Press that they were expressing backing for the President, and about the same number said they were expressing disapproval of him.
The Greens have already given their in-principle support for a parliamentary inquiry, and other crossbench senators expressed backing for an inquiry but reserved their decision until a formal motion was put.
When six of Europe's largest oil and gas companies, including BP and Royal Dutch Shell, expressed backing for a global carbon pricing system last month, it boosted hopes that the fossil fuel industry was getting serious about fighting global warming.
Over the last week a supportive letter has been circulating among MPs expressing backing for May opening talks with Labour, but it is not clear how many have signed it.
Scotland's electorate expressed backing for devolution in 1979 and 1997; in 2014 its experience of competent, responsive social democratic government may encourage it to take the bolder step.
Never once, did I think that I could be thanked for listening to someone and expressing back my understanding.
The work and pensions secretary, Amber Rudd, is understood to have warned May that resignations from the front bench may follow, if the prime minister did not allow ministers to express their backing for the move.
It is said Jussi Jaaskelainen has declined to sign a new contract partly because of Lee's presence as manager and on another occasion the senior players declined to do post-match interviews after a defeat at Birmingham as they would have been asked to express their backing for Lee.
The automotive, aerospace and defence industries also expressed their backing for the steel industry.
