One of the more interesting primary races last night took place in Rowan County, Kentucky, where a number of Democrats were battling to take on anti-gay County Clerk Kim Davis. One of those challengers was David Ermold, one of the gay men she refused to grant a marriage license to a few years ago.

Ermold didn’t make Davis the central point of his candidacy. Instead, he said he just wanted to “restore professional leadership, fairness, and responsibility to the clerk’s office.” It was a veiled attack, to say the least. It was also an uphill climb, given that Donald Trump received 60% of the vote in the county in 2016. But this will be Davis’ first election since her controversy gained nationwide attention, and who knows how Democrats will fare, even in Kentucky, later this year?

In a bit of karmic disappointment, Ermold didn’t win the race. Elwood Caudill, another perfectly fine candidate for the job, won the four-way Democratic primary and will face off against Davis this November.

Without mentioning Caudill’s name, Ermold was gracious in the loss, saying on Twitter that “our work to reaffirm Rowan County as a diverse and welcoming community has only just begun.”

Today, I stand amazed by the outpouring of support for our campaign by both those in Rowan County and by those across the country. Our primary was a truly competitive race, and I am so proud of our accomplishments. — David Ermold (@DErmold) May 23, 2018

We knew from the beginning that we had a difficult task, and while our campaign is coming to a close, our work to reaffirm Rowan County as a diverse and welcoming community has only just begun. — David Ermold (@DErmold) May 23, 2018

If the voters of Rowan County want to stop being a national embarrassment, they’ll vote for Caudill this November and get rid of the clerk who believes her religion is more important than the citizens’ rights.

