Tagged: Mitch McConnell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the $85 billion in broad-based federal spending cuts due to take effect on Friday "modest" and downplayed risks that the reductions would damage the nation's economy.

The Kentucky Republican's outlook on the potential ripple effects the cuts might have on a still-fragile economy differed starkly from officials in President Barack Obama's administration, who warned of dire consequences.

"This is a quite modest reduction," McConnell told reporters at Louisville's airport. "We ought to be doing a lot more than this."

The White House recently put out a news release showing that a cross-section of Kentuckians would feel the budget cuts.

After dismissing the idea last fall, Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo is warming to the idea of actress Ashley Judd running for the U.S. Senate in 2014.

Judd has begun reaching out to Kentucky Democratic leaders; Stumbo said on Thursday that he'll tell Judd that, should she enter, the race is winnable.

"Ashley Judd, if she chooses to get into this race, will be a formidable candidate by the time the race is over I'm convinced of that," Stumbo said.

Stumbo, a Pikeville Democrat, is closely associated with Kentucky's coal country.

Kentucky state Senate Democrats are largely lukewarm about the potential for actress and activist Ashley Judd entering the 2014 race for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

Judd's recent activity indicates a real possibility that she'll enter the 2014 race. She has met with Democratic senators,  may soon speak with Gov. Steve Beshear and recently addressed on Twitter the controversial statements made by a liberal Super Pac regarding McConnell's wife.

Most state senators represent multiple counties and act as de facto party chairs for their districts—so their opinion will matter. With this in mind, we asked those 14 Democratic state senators whether they thought Judd was a viable  U.S. Senate candidate.

Taken as a whole, Democratic state senators were unenthusiastic about the idea of a Judd candidacy.

But not all. Walter Blevins (Morehead), Kathy Stein (Lexington) and Gerald Neal (Louisville) expressed direct support for a Judd candidacy.