Kim Davis is now a Republican

Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who claimed national attention for refusing to grant marriage licenses to gay couples, is switching allegiances from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.

Davis told Reuters that she and her husband "came to the conclusion that the Democratic Party had left us a long time ago, so why were we hanging on?"

Davis was jailed for five days earlier this month after she refused to comply with a Supreme Court order legalizing gay marriage. Davis cited her religious beliefs as grounds for her noncompliance.

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Her refusal to obey the gay marriage law has been well-received among many Republican presidential candidates. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who organized an "I'm With Kim Liberty Rally" on September 8 at the detention center where she was being held, has stated that Davis' imprisonment is evidence of the "criminalization of Christianity in our country," and that "we must defend religious liberty and never surrender to judicial tyranny."

Similarly, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) expressed his support for Davis' right to religious liberty in a statement released on his campaign website.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina form the minority of GOP presidential hopefuls who have criticized Davis' actions.