Rowan County Clerk to join Republican Party

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis is joining the GOP.

Davis, who has become the face of opposition to the Supreme Court's ruling legalizing gay marriage, told Reuters on Friday that she is leaving the Democratic Party to become a Republican.

"My husband and I had talked about it for quite a while and we came to the conclusion that the Democratic Party left us a long time ago, so why were we hanging on?" she told Reuters in an interview.

Davis, who refused to issue marriage licenses because she disagrees with gay marriage, was jailed for five days by U.S. District Judge David Bunning after she refused a direct order to either grant the licenses or allow her deputy clerks to do it.

Bunning released her after she agreed not to interfere with deputy clerks issuing the licenses. After she changed the license to remove her name and title and added that the license was being issued in response to the federal court order, plaintiffs asked that she again be held in contempt.

Davis has blamed Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, for her legal woes because he has refused to call a special session to relieve her of that responsibility and refused to issue an executive order that would allow her to not issue licenses.

Beshear said the special session would be too costly and that he has no authority to issue such an executive order.

Conservatives from across the country, including Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz, flocked to Carter County, where she was jailed for five days to lend their support.

Reuters said Davis was In Washington, D.C., for an event hosted by the conservative Family Research Council. According to the Rowan County Clerk's office, Davis is still registered as a Democrat.

Davis was elected last fall as a Democrat. Before her, Davis's mother was the Rowan County clerk for 37 years and was a Democrat also.