Ashley is flattered that she is considered as a strong candidate to challenge the longest-serving senator in Kentucky.
- Nov 10, 2012
AceShowbiz - Ashley Judd has responded to news that she is touted as a top contender to face Sen. Mitch McConnell in the 2014 election in Kentucky. The "Double Jeopardy" actress plays it down but isn't completely ruling out the possibility of joining the senate race.
"I cherish Kentucky, heart and soul, and while I'm very honored by the consideration, we have just finished an election," she tells Us Weekly, "so let's focus on coming together to keep moving America's families, and especially our kids, forward."
In a separate occasion previously, the avid supporter of President Barack Obama said, "Everybody's thinking about it (political office) for me." She added, "I'm at the point where so many people have asked that I feel it is honorable to at least talk about it."
"I do a lot in the U.S. with the Democrat Party at the county and national level and that may be the best use of me... but I'm just gonna listen to what people have to say and (decide) should I keep operating in the space I'm in or should I take the show to Washington? I don't know."
Rep. John Yarmuth of Kentucky is confident that Ashley will be able to end Mitch's run as the longest-serving Senator in the state. "If you had an Ashley Judd-McConnell race, I think it would be as high-profile a race as Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown," he gushes to The Courier-Journal.
Born in Kentucky, Ashley now lives in Tennessee and has to move back to her home state before she could join the 2014 election bid. Mitch himself won re-election to a fifth term in 2008 and spent $20 million on his last election to beat Democrat Bruce Lunsford.
In response to Ashley's possible candidacy, his campaign manager Jesse Benton says, "Sen. McConnell and his wife are big fans of Ashley Judd's movies and appreciate her energy, especially when it comes to bringing young people into the political process."
Rumor has it, Mitch has already had $6.8 million in his account for the upcoming re-election.
