KENTUCKY, September 9, 2015– Rowan County Kentucky Court Clerk Kim Davis won the attention and admiration of at least two GOP presidential candidates in the wake of her arrest and incarceration for refusing to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples. United States Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee both attempted to use Davis’ incident as a soap-box for their campaigns. However, Huckabee came out on top.
On Tuesday, both candidates were slated to appear at Davis’ release where supporters held a rally. Appearing with Davis on stage and speaking on her behalf to the media, Huckabee stole the show as Cruz was seemingly nowhere to be found.
“If you have to put someone in jail, let me go,” Huckabee said to a roaring crowd. “The founders never gave one branch of government the power to make the law. Every one of us will have to decide whether we want to keep this great country or whether we want to surrender and sacrifice it to tyranny.”
It wasn’t Cruz’s choice to remain off stage and out of the spotlight. Much to his displeasure, a Huckabee campaign staffer physically blocked Cruz from even speaking to the media in order to ensure Huckabee remained in the spotlight and the Davis soapbox was his own.
As noted by the New York Times, Cruz kept a uncharacteristically low profile and remained off to the side.
Cruz and Huckabee both saw a minor jump in the polls after the first official Republican nominee debate on Fox News. The next debate, where both candidates have earned a slot on the main stage, will be broadcast by CNN on September 16.
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