LIVE- Frankfort, KY–Today Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes announced she will challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitchell McConnell for U.S. Senate.  McConnell has held the senate seat for nearly 30 years.  The election will be held in 2014.

Considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is Kentucky’s 76th Secretary of State and only current female Constitutional Officer.

During the 2013 session of the General Assembly, Secretary Grimes worked to pass legislation to make voting easier for military members serving abroad.

Secretary Grimes is a native of Maysville, Kentucky.  She received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, where she served as a trustee to the Board of Directors.  Secretary Grimes obtained her law degree, graduating with honors, from American University, Washington College of Law, in Washington, D.C.

Secretary Grimes currently lives with her husband, Andrew, in downtown Lexington.