The case of Kim Davis — the Kentucky county clerk jailed for refusing to issue gay marriage licenses — has highlighted a deep cultural gap in the Republican Party. And no one has exploited that gap more than Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor running for president.

Huckabee, author of the flyover-populist manifesto God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy, jumped on the Davis case at the beginning. His advance staff traveled to Grayson, Ky., last week and spent days organizing the “I’m With Kim Liberty Rally” Tuesday. The plan was for Huckabee to visit Davis in jail, and then speak at the event. But the day before, news came that Davis would be released, and she ended up the star at her own rally.