Ashley Judd for Senate: Could A 'Hollywood Liberal' Win Kentucky?
By _Daniel Distant_ (http://www.christianpost.com/author/daniel-distant/)
, Christian Post Reporter
December 5, 2012|10:52 am
Ashley Judd could run for Senate in her home state of Kentucky despite
previous evidence to the contrary, according to reports. The liberal actress
and eighth-generation Kentuckian has been reaching out to political
contacts, which could point to her competition for Republican Mitch
McConnell's
seat in 2014.
"I do receive a lot of encouragement to run," she said at an event hosted
by EMILY's List and Marie Claire magazine. "And my deepest desire is to be
useful. I want to help serve my fellow [citizens]. And I may be doing that
to the best of my capacity … in the space I'm operating in. Or it may be
time to look at possibly running for office."
To that effect, she has spoken to Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of
New York and Democratic pollster Jefrey Pollock, according to _Politico_
(http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/ashley-judd-exploring-senate-run-84542_P
age3.html) . They both declined to comment on the contents of their
conversation. Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), however, was more willing to speak
after
talking to Judd.
"She is doing all the things that a serious candidate exploring a race
should do," he told Politico. "I think there are a lot of people … who wanted
to let her know that her candidacy would be an exciting prospect for us. … A
lot of the labor unions, they were telling me that too."
Despite the positives of running for Senate for Democrats- Judd could raise
a lot of money from out-of-state sources, she has high name recognition,
and she was described by her grandmother as a "_Hollywood liberal_
(http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Ashley-Judd-s-grandmother-skeptical-of-Senate-r
un-4064882.php) "- the negatives could squash her chances before anything
gets underway.
Judd no longer lives in Kentucky, and the state is extremely right-leaning,
giving President Obama just 38 percent of the vote last election. Rarely
have entertainers won statewide elections without first being involved in
local politics, _The Washington Post_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/12/04/sen-ashley-judd-not-if-history-is-any-guide/)
pointed
out. And the one local issue Judd has been involved in- she is against
mountaintop-removal coal mining- could be spun as anti-coal in a very pro-coal
state.
Furthermore, her opponent, Sen. Mitch McConnell, didn't get to be Minority
Leader for nothing. He is far more experience in politics than she, and his
representative was eager to highlight that fact.
"It's going to sting. We're going to make sure that you don't come out with
your nose clean," Jesse Benton, McConnell's campaign manager, told
Politico regarding any eventual opponents. "We're going to drive your
negatives up
and very aggressively and publicly litigate your record before the
citizens of Kentucky."
44-year-old Judd has begun finding prospective supporters and conducting
opposition research, according to Politico. The actress' representative,
though, has only reiterated that she is "very honored" by the attention to a
prospective campaign, and has not yet decided to run.
Read more at _http://global.christianpost.com/news/ashle
y-judd-for-senate-could-a-hollywood-liberal-win-kentucky-86121/#6W0uljpiX4xPq9HP.99_
(http://global.christianpost.com/news/ashley-judd-for-senate-could-a-hollywood-liberal-
win-kentucky-86121/#6W0uljpiX4xPq9HP.99)
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