© 2026 ABC News

Cruz called Davis a hero.

“Kim Davis stood up for her faith, and she told the truth. That is a powerful, powerful thing. There is a reason why you see so many people here gathered on the steps of the jail. There is a reason why Kim Davis has inspired people across the country,” he said.

When asked how the situation involving Davis factors into the 2016 presidential race, Cruz launched into an attack of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

“Listen, it is my hope that every candidate for president and every candidate for public office rallies around Kim Davis and religious freedom. You know, religious liberty should be an issue that brings us together and cuts across race lines and ethnic lines, class lines, party lines,” he said. “But sadly we see some real clarity. Hillary Clinton very publicly stated she thought Kim Davis should go to jail.”

Cruz’s trip to Kentucky follows a summer of activities in which he has highlighted to potential voters how he believes religious freedom is under assault. He held a rally last month featuring appearances by other religious freedom advocates, including an Iowa couple who refused to host a gay wedding at a venue they owned.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/huckabee-cruz-jockey-support-kentucky-county-clerk-kim/story?id=33619010","legacySlug":"/news/story/huckabee-cruz-jockey-support-kentucky-county-clerk-kim-33619010","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"05:17","publishDate":"09-09-2015","updatedTime":"15:29","updatedDate":"09-09-2015","socialImage":{"alt":"Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, with Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, left, at her side, greets the crowd after being released from the Carter County Detention Center, Sept. 8, 2015, in Grayson, Ky.","credit":"Timothy D. Easley/AP Photo","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/AP_HUCKABEE_CRUZ_150909_DG_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"9/9/2015 05:17:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":33619010,"headline":"Huckabee, Cruz Jockey for Support of Kim Davis","mediaAssetTitle":"HOPPER_CRUZ_KENTUCKY_150909","description":"The political rivals descended on Kentucky to bolster their campaign messages.","duration":"2:05","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2015/09/150909_gma_perez_0708_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["33601309","33599965","33365676"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"September 8, 2015","headline":"Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Released From Jail","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-set-released-jail-33601309","id":33601309,"image":{"alt":"Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Released From Jail","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/ht_huckabee_davis_kab_150908_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"WHAS","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"September 8, 2015","headline":"Cruz, Huckabee Head to Kentucky to Support Jailed Clerk ","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/ted-cruz-heads-kentucky-support-jailed-clerk-kim-33599965","id":33599965,"image":{"alt":"Cruz, Huckabee Head to Kentucky to Support Jailed Clerk ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/GTY_cruz_kab_150908_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Scott Olson/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"August 27, 2015","headline":"2016 Candidates Respond to Virginia Shooting","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-2016-rivals-responding-virginia-33365676","id":33365676,"image":{"alt":"2016 Candidates Respond to Virginia Shooting","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/GTY_trump_clinton_jef_150617_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Huckabee, Cruz Jockey for Support of Kim Davis","description":"The political rivals descended on Kentucky to bolster their campaign messages.","duration":"2:05","uploadDate":"09-09-2015","publication":"09-09-2015","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2015/09/150909_gma_perez_0708_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2015/09/150909_gma_perez_0708_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/huckabee-cruz-jockey-support-kentucky-county-clerk-kim-33619010"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Huckabee, Cruz Jockey for Support of Kim Davis","pubTime":"01:17","pubDate":"09-09-2015","modTime":"11:29","modDate":"09-09-2015","taxonomyTags":"none","id":33619010,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Huckabee, Cruz Jockey for Support of Kim Davis","mediaAssetTitle":"HOPPER_CRUZ_KENTUCKY_150909","videoId":33619010,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/huckabee-cruz-jockey-support-kentucky-county-clerk-kim-33619010"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/33619010","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/33619010","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};