Hollywood star and actress Ashley Judd is taking steps towards a possible senate run in Kentucky, meeting with various political officials and donors on both the state level and the national stage.
According to the Huffington Post and Yahoo, Judd has sat down and met with officials from the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee in a private session in Washington earlier this week, marking her first official meeting with the DSCC since rumors started floating about her possible Senate run against Mitch McConnell in Kentucky in 2014.
Rumors have been flying for months about Judd's possible Senate run and according to the report, the actress has been making appearances in Kentucky, including at a dinner last week that has many top Democratic politicians and donors in attendance.
Judd has family ties that go many generations in Kentucky and she has been an active political supporter of Barack Obama as well as with many philanthropic endeavors during her career. A number of polls taken in Kentucky have shown that the Republican leads the actress by nine points among likely voters.
Judd is known as a huge Kentucky Wildcats fan and she was seen last year cheering on her team at the Final Four on their way to winning a championship. McConnell and other politicians have come out earlier this year and tried to downplay Judd's credentials, calling her a "Hollywood liberal", among other things.
The Karl Rove super PAC American Crossroads also sees Judd as a threat, which is one reason why they put out a $10,000 web ad that also attacked her background as an actress. The ad titled "Ashley's Story" portrays the actress as a Hollywood radical and someone who looks down on people from Kentucky.
McConnell's campaign clearly sees her as a threat as well, as they came out with their own ad this week that attacks Judd and other candidates. Judd is a political activist who works with many different causes and supported President Barack Obama over the past two presidential elections. McConnell is a stalwart in Kentucky politics, but has been one of the biggest impediments to progress in the U.S. Congress in recent years.
CLICK HERE to view the web attack ad.
Judd spoke to a newspaper about her possible run earlier in the year.
"The people of Kentucky need a fighter," Judd said, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. "And certainly going back 10 generations, I've got some fighters from those hills in my family."
Judd released a statement late last year addressing the rumors about her run, saying:
"I cherish Kentucky, heart and soul, and while I'm very honored by the consideration, we have just finished an election, so let's focus on coming together to keep moving America's families, and especially our kids, forward," Judd said, according to the Huffington Post.
Judd was in Washington for the inauguration of President Obama and was also honored at the Kentucky Society's Bluegrass Ball on Saturday for her humanitarian work. The actress has worked for political organizations and has been involved in philanthropic endeavors, but this would be her first run for office.
The Senate seat Judd would likely go for is against Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has been in office since 1985, which is the longest in state history. He has been the top Republican in the Senate since 2007 and will be up for reelection in 2014, which would be the opening for Judd. McConnell is staunchly Republican and is opposed to anything President Obama does.
Judd was recently divorced from her husband Dario Franchitti after 10 years of marriage.
