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SALT LAKE CITY — Actress Ashley Judd, a Democrat, may be gearing up for a career in politics.
Judd, who recently turned to being an advocate for humanitarian and women's issues, is rumored to be looking to challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in the 2014 election.
McConnell's popularity has dropped significantly, with only 37 percent of Kentucky voters supporting his re-election, according to a poll by the Public Policy Polling firm.
Earlier this month, Judd met with the current and past chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and has held several meetings with Democratic officials in Kentucky, leading to speculation that a run for senate is imminent.
Judd has been less than forthcoming about her candidacy, keeping her potential run quiet. However, Judd has reportedly told key advisers that she plans to announce her candidacy around the time of the Kentucky Derby in May, according to the Huffington Post.
She's going to get to know that she's not going to be able to wait until the screenwriters from California and producers make her look good and prepare the ads and give her lots of lines to memorize so that she can handle these things.
–Karl Rove
Republicans, however, are not waiting for an official announcement and have already started airing attack ads to combat Judd's "Hollywood liberal" approach.
"She's going to get to know that she's not going to be able to wait until the screenwriters from California and producers make her look good and prepare the ads and give her lots of lines to memorize so that she can handle these things," Karl Rove told Fox News host Bill O'Reilly in February. "We're going to make her start saying where she's coming from."
Rove's super PAC American Crossroads released the so-called "Ashley's Story" ad early in February, which depicted Judd as an out-of-touch Hollywood liberal.
Although Republicans have started a preemptive strike against Judd, the DSCC is not ready to embrace the candidacy of Judd, according to Politico.
Speaking to media on a conference call, the committee's executive director, Guy Cecil, said Judd was one of many "quality candidates" in Kentucky. "Quality candidates would include folks like the secretary of state and folks like Ashley Judd."
Judd, who is actually a resident of Tennessee, would likely raise a lot of money and would draw a lot of national attention. However, the Republican Party has a strong hold on Kentucky, with former presidential candidate Mitt Romney winning the state by 23 points in November. With McConnell's popularity low in the state, Republicans will likely put up a tough fight to ensure their party continues to be represented in the Senate.
