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Kim Davis, anti–gay marriage Kentucky clerk who took her talents to Romania, just lost her re-election bid

She became a martyr figure to the religious Right after refusing to validate gay marriage licenses.
She became a martyr figure to the religious right after refusing to validate gay marriage licenses.

Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who became a martyr figure to the religious right after refusing to validate gay marriage licenses, has lost her job.

Davis won about 3,566 votes while her opponent, Democrat Elwood Caudill Jr., won 4,210 for Rowan County clerk, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Davis spent five days in jail for refusing to issues gay marriage licenses to couples in Kentucky in 2015 after the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was a Constitutional right. The Kentucky state legislature eventually changed the law so that clerks do not have to sign marriage licenses, but conservatives still paraded Davis at rallies as a fighter for religious freedom.

Since then, Davis has received praise from high-profile Republicans, including President Donald Trump, whose first joint address to Congress she attended in 2017, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. She also had the opportunity to meet Pope Francis as he visited the White House and campaigned against gay marriage in Romania.

Cover image: In this Sept. 14, 2015, file photo, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis makes a statement to the media at the front door of the Rowan County Judicial Center in Morehead, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)