Crossposted from Hillbilly Report.
After much hope and fanfare among national Democrats and many in Kentucky Ashley Judd has decided not to run against Mitch McConnell in 2014. While she is definitely an intelligent, compassionate lady that would have made a great Senator it appears as if she probably did not want to go through the meat-grinder that would have been the hypocritical Republican propaganda machine and the millions of dollars of mud that Mitch McConnell would have slung her way.
To the disappointment of many she tweeted that she would indeed not be running against the Senator for Communist China:
"After serious and thorough contemplation, I realize that my responsibilities & energy at this time need to be focused on my family. Regretfully, I am currently unable to consider a campaign for the Senate," she tweeted.
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And while many will be disappointed Ms. Judd at least made her decision giving Kentucky Democrats plenty of time to regroup and unite behind a candidate and give whomever it may be the resources and energy they need to win. For that we can only thank her.
So now that we know this will not be the Beauty vs. the Beast from hell race, what do Democrats in Kentucky have left? We already have a fine man and Democrat running in Ed Marksberry although many would say he doesn't have enough name recognition or deep enough pockets. While I would have no problem whatsoever supporting him, many in the Kentucky Democratic Party and indeed the Washington establishment have a serious problem being and supporting real Democrats like Ed.
It seems as if the establishment choice is now Alison Lundergan Grimes, but it is important to note that this is the same establishment that gave us Bruce Lunsford against Mitch McConnell last time and Jack Conway against Rand Paul. That should at least give us pause in thinking maybe the establishment does not know what they are talking about when they tell us who would be the best candidate.
Who would some of our readers like to see run? Who are we overlooking that could pose a real threat to McConnell? Jack Conway did not seem to play well at all in the Eastern and Western parts of the state when he ran against Rand Paul. Crit Luallen seems more interested in a run for the statehouse in 2015. Jerry Abramson has expressed interest and could be a formidable candidate but would he? Greg Fischer is current Louisville mayor and has shown that he too could be a very viable candidate although he too failed to win his primary.
How about a couple of dark horses? Former Lt. Gov Daniel Mongiardo, while losing to Jim Bunning narrowly and losing a primary to Jack Conway at least showed he could be a strength in Western and Eastern Kentucky where votes for a Democrat will be crucial. While many would write him off, Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo could be just the type of political veteran and fighter that could lock horns with McConnell and beat him at his own game. I must admit I would be intrigued to see a race pitting Greg Stumbo against Mitch McConnell.
Call me crazy but I would actually lean towards Stumbo, Mongiardo or Fischer if they ran but at this point who knows if they would even consider it or draw any support at all from the Kentucky Democratic establishment whose actions never cease to perplex grassroots Democrats? With the Queen of Kentucky Wildcats basketball out of the race the way I see it is that anything can happen.
Do any of you favor any of these candidates and if not who did I overlook? One thing is certain. We must all unite behind one of these candidates or find someone else and send the disgrace that is Mitch McConnell off to the true masters he has long served over the people of Kentucky. The Chinese Communists.