Ashley Judd Senate 2014 Candidacy Attacked by Karl Rove Super PAC

Actress Ashley Judd made headlines last year when she hinted that she might be interested in running for Senate in her home state of Kentucky.

Now Republicans, including Karl Rove and his Super PAC, are fighting to end her candidacy before it begins.

American Crossroads, Rove's Super PAC, spent $10,000 on an ad showcasing Judd as a Hollywood liberal and radical.

Kentucky is a solidly red state, but Judd, with her celebrity status and hometown appeal has a chance to knock off Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate Minority Leader, in his bid for reelection in 2014.

McConnell is relatively unpopular at home, but there's no one with enough clout on the Democratic side to mount a worthwhile challenge to him.

In the meantime, Republicans are trying to paint Judd as out of touch with local concerns, pointing out that she now lives in Tennessee. Tennessee! A place wholly and completely different from Kentucky, right?

A Public Policy Polling survey showed Judd within 4 points of McConnell in a hypothetical race between the two, so McConnell is justifiably nervous.

At the same time, any damage he inflicts on Judd's reputation will only increase his viability against challengers from the right. If conservative voters think Judd has a good shot at winning, they'll probably want the more experienced McConnell to run against her, since he'd have the best chance to defeat her.

Of course, Dick Lugar thought the same thing, and he lost in the primaries to a Tea Party challenger. Conservatives have shown that they will put ideology over electability every time, though their heavy losses in last year's elections may have changed some minds.

For her part, Judd hasn't actually declared her intention to run. She could also challenge Rand Paul, Kentucky's other senator, when he is up for reelection in 2016, timing that would guarantee she benefits from the increased turnout of a presidential election.

And after her recent divorce, she could always move back to Kentucky to prepare.