Tagged: Mitch McConnell

Will she or won't she?

For Kentucky political junkies, that's the big question surrounding a potential Ashley Judd challenge to Kentucky's senior U.S. Senator, Mitch McConnell. Judd says she's considering what would be her first ever run at elected office, and that alone has been enough for a Republican PAC to target her with an attack ad.

The New York Times has this look at how some Democrats in Kentucky are viewing a potential Judd Senate candidacy, with some believing the actress has the star-power to challenge McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, but others saying she could be a liability to the party should she enter the race.

The lone Democratic member of Kentucky's Congressional delegation, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, is taking Judd very seriously.

“I would actually be surprised if she didn’t run right now,” Rep. Yarmuth told the New York Times. “She’s done everything a serious candidate would do.”

Actress Ashley Judd has made no decision about running for U.S. Senate, but the Kentucky native is already the subject of an attack ad. The online video was posted by the conservative super PAC American Crossroads.

The ad mocks Judd’s past comments about her commitment to President Obama, in which she calls him “brilliant” and says she “will go wherever the president wants me to go.” The ad also borrows a quote from Judd's grandmother who called her a “Hollywood liberal.” 

The ad posted on YouTube goes on to show a clip of a speech the actress made in which she called Tennessee home. Judd grew up in Kentucky and went to college at U-K, although she has lived in Tennessee for several years. She was a Tennessee delegate to the Democratic National Convention last year.

A feisty Mitch McConnell promised to take the fight to any opponent as the Senate's top Republican got a head start on a 2014 re-election campaign that could squeeze him between challenges from his own party as well as from Democrats.

Kentucky's longest-serving senator opened a campaign office in his hometown of Louisville on Saturday, about a year earlier than in his previous campaigns. It was a clear message to critics as he vowed to wage the "biggest and best campaign this state has ever seen."

"They want to take me out," McConnell told a group of supporters. "This is the only race in the country with any national significance. And that's why we're up and running this far in advance."

The Senate minority leader then declared, "If they want to fight, we're ready."