Ashley Judd for Senate?
With the 2012 election not far away in the rear-view mirror, Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., is already looking forward to what he believes will be the next "premier race in the country": Ashley Judd versus Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
"If you had an Ashley Judd-McConnell race, I think it would be as high-profile a race as Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown," Yarmuth told the Louisville Courier-Journal, predicting campaign money for the actress and Kentucky native would "pour in as soon as she entered the race."
Rumors that Judd is mulling a bid to unseat McConnell, the longest-serving senator in the state's history, sprouted Wednesday night. While she served as a Kentucky delegate at September's Democratic National Convention and has implied interest in seeking political office, Judd suggested in a statement she's not ready to jump into the 2014 political fray just yet.
"I cherish Kentucky, heart and soul," Judd said in a statement released by her publicist. "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."
Meanwhile, McConnell is reportedly open to the challenge - and a fan of Judd's, whose filmography includes "Kiss the Girls," "Where the Heart Is," and "Dolphin Tale."
"Senator McConnell and his wife are big fans of Ashley Judd's movies and appreciate her energy, particularly when it comes to getting young people engaged in the political process," McConnell's spokesman Jesse Benton said in a statement.
Other names that have been mentioned as potential challengers to McConnell incde Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson, and President Obama's chief campaign fundraiser Matthew Barzun.
