Republican senate leader Mitch McConnell already has a war chest and he's facing another tougher fight.
His bid for reelection. Already there are some Republicans who are willing to take him on in a primary fight.
The senator from Kentucky is fairly unpopular in his state. He and Senator Rand Paul both represent the deeply conservative state. President Barack Obama barely cracks 40% in the state. The last time the state voted for a Democratic nominee was Bill Clinton.
Nowadays, Republicans have a strong hold on the state. Even if McConnell unpopular, the Democrats who run aren't popular either. The Democratic governor Steve Beshar isn't going to risk his political future. Former congressman Ben Chandler isn't going to run.
So who are the Democrats lining up?
More women, Hispanic, Black and moderate candidates in politically conservative states.
A known Hollywood star who is a liberal activist. Ashley Judd, the daughter of country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of Wynonna Judd. While she is best known for an ongoing acting career spanning more than two decades, she has increasingly become involved in global humanitarian efforts and political activism. Judd has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is, Dolphin Tale and High Crimes.
She starred as Rebecca Winstone in the television series Missing in 2012. In 2010, Judd received a master's degree in public administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
With talk of her throwing herself into the political fray, conservatives already are lining up for attack.
First McConnell, launched a veil shot at her. Sean Hannity played a clips of Judd on his program. American Crossroads GPS, Karl Rove's shadowy group launched an attack. This alone is furthering a potential run for the actress.
In response to this rumor, the Conservative Super PAC "American Crossroads" released an attack ad against Judd in Kentucky, mocking her ability to lead as well as her unwavering support for President Obama.
In February 2013, she invited her Twitter followers to join a mailing list, hinting that she may ultimately announce a run for the Senate to those on the list.
Judd lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She is relocating to Lexington later this month. Her possibility of running has the nation talking. The last time an entertainer won a political race was Al Franken.
Al Franken, an actor, author, a screenwriter, talk radio host, and activist ran for U.S. Senate in Minnesota.
He faced Republican Norm Coleman in a bitterly fought race in 2008. He was declared the winner of the election and the Republicans protested. They held up the certification of Franken until July 2009.
The Republicans are going to do the same thing to Judd. Say if Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) was trailing in the polls in a hypothetical race against Judd, then you would see an all out war against her and President Barack Obama.
The United States Senate is in the Democratic control. The House of Representatives is in Republican control.
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| Actress may run for U.S. Senate as a Democrat against formidable Republican. |
But Judd is smart, feisty and charming, and probably can, as one local here put it, “out-Kentucky and out-country” the Louisville-based, owlishly professorial McConnell in a state where down-home, one-handshake-at-a-time style still matters.
Judd made her intentions clear at a private dinner last month at Brown's Louisville home. Asked if she was tough enough to take on McConnell and the GOP national attack machine, Judd reportedly answered, “I have been raped twice, so I think I can handle Mitch McConnell.”
Judd was born in California, but spent most of her youth and school years in Kentucky. A Democrat who has been an advocate for causes for years, she more recently began focusing on a career in electoral politics after enrolling at Harvard in 2009 to obtain a master’s in public administration.
Judd considered running for office in Tennessee before turning her attention to Kentucky, according to one of her leading supporters in Louisville.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, whose leaders were cool to the high-risk but intriguing Judd candidacy, in recent days has taken new polls that show McConnell -- never an overwhelming winner despite his lofty status -- is more vulnerable to a Judd campaign than originally thought.
Judd would hardly be a textbook candidate in a mostly red state with a Democratic governor that has not gone for a Democratic presidential candidate since Clinton in 1996. “Kentucky has changed a lot in recent years,” said Crit Luallen, the former state auditor and a potential candidate for governor.
Being an “environmentalist” in Kentucky is a tricky matter. Among other things, Judd is a foe of “mountain-top removal” in strip mining, a hideous practice but nevertheless one that is defended in much of the coal fields of Eastern Kentucky. Those who oppose it are seen as outsiders who don’t understand the mountains.
This week she got some political cover on that issue as state Rep. Greg Stumbo of Eastern Kentucky took a strong public position against the practice.
Judd is given to cultural statements that might sound acceptably thought-provoking in Los Angeles but not necessarily so in conservative Kentucky -- such as her comment that she didn't want to have children because there is too much suffering and poverty in the world.
She is an ardent Obama supporter and progressive on most social issues. She recently announced the end of her marriage to her race-car driver husband, and racy pictures and video from her movie career are plentiful and easy to find on the Internet. She writes movingly and openly about the challenges she faces from her bipolar disorder.
But Judd was born to campaign. A fighter by nature, she has a quick wit and the ability to raise far more money – not to mention engender more free national and local media – than all of McConnell’s past Democratic foes put together.
She is fearless, and would not necessarily lose a bar fight if she got into one, which she is about to do.
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