Ashley Judd is allegedly seriously considering a run for the Senate against Republican Mitch McConnell. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , the movie star has rumored to be thinking about officially entering the political realm in 2014.
Judd is an eighth-generation Kentuckian. In recent weeks, the movie star has spoken with Democratic New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand about a potential bid for the Senate, Politico reports. Ashley Judd has also reportedly been in contact with a Democratic pollster and is in the initial stages of conducting opposition research. The opposition research is allegedly focusing on areas of Kentucky in which the actress would be the most vulnerable should she decide to run for office.
Although the movie star may be eyeing a run against Mitch McConnell, she is also allegedly considering holding off on entering the political ring until 2016 so she can take on Rand Paul, according to the Huffington Post . If Judd does indeed begin circulating candidacy petitions in Kentucky, she will be the most well-known celebrity to run for office since Al Franken won a race in Minnesota.
McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, will be facing up for his sixth term in office in 2014. The race is expected to be one of the most watched in the county.
Democratic Representative John Yarmuth had this to say about Ashley Judd running for office in Kentucky:
“She is doing all the things that a serious candidate exploring a race should do. I think there are a lot of people, and I was one of them, who wanted to let her know that her candidacy would be an exciting prospect for us. That’s what I wanted her to know. A lot of the labor unions, they were telling me that too.”
A spokeswoman for Ashley Judd declined to comment about a prior statement by the movie star noting that she was honored by the consideration for Senate.