POLITICO – The Hollywood movie star and eighth-generation Kentuckian is seriously exploring a 2014 run for the Senate to take on the powerful Republican leader, four people familiar with the matter tell POLITICO. In recent weeks, Judd has spoken with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) about the possibility of a run, has discussed a potential bid with a Democratic pollster and has begun to conduct opposition research on herself to see where she’s most vulnerable in the Bluegrass State, sources say.

Whether Judd jumps into the race remains far from certain. She’s reportedly also weighing whether to wait until 2016 to instead take on freshman Sen. Rand Paul, sources say.

But if Judd does become a candidate, she would be the biggest celebrity to run for the Senate since Al Franken’s successful 2008 bid for the Minnesota seat. And her entrance would add a level of star power to a race that was already poised to be the highest-profile in the country with the Senate Republican leader up for a sixth term in 2014.

“She is doing all the things that a serious candidate exploring a race should do,” Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) told POLITICO after speaking with her. “I think there are a lot of people, and I was one of them, who wanted to let her know that her candidacy would be an exciting prospect for us. That’s what I wanted her to know. A lot of the labor unions, they were telling me that too.”

A Judd spokeswoman declined to comment beyond an earlier statement when the actress said she was “very honored” by the consideration, but didn’t shut the door on a run.

Democrats privately acknowledge that recruiting isn’t easy against McConnell, as the state’s strongest Democrats may instead run for governor in 2015 rather than face the GOP leader’s machine in a bare-knuckle Senate bid.

That’s why some Democrats are calling on Judd to run — she could raise a ton of cash, energize the base and would have significant name recognition in the state. Yet other Democrats are nervous about her prospective candidacy: She’d be pegged as a liberal, out of touch with conservative Kentucky; she has no experience running for office; and she now lives outside her home state.

In addition to Judd, a wide range of Democratic names have been floated, such as Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes and Obama fundraiser Matthew Barzun, both of whom are noncommittal about the race.

McConnell’s campaign is already talking about how it’s prepared to tear apart any Democrat who joins the fray.

“It’s going to sting,” Jesse Benton, McConnell’s campaign manager, warned to any candidates considering a run. “We’re going to make sure that you don’t come out with your nose clean. We’re going to drive your negatives up and very aggressively and publicly litigate your record before the citizens of Kentucky.”

“This is not a free run to prime yourself for future office in ’15,” said Benton, who declined to comment on Judd specifically.

It’s far from clear how an untested Judd would fare against the hardball tactics of McConnell when it comes down to the daily grind of a real campaign. She now lives on a farm in rural Tennessee and in Scotland, the native home of her husband, auto racer Dario Franchitti, a three-time Indianapolis 500 champion.

While most voters know Judd from the 20 films she’s starred in, she has grown more active in liberal social causes in recent years, such as the AIDS epidemic, abortion rights and environmental matters.

On the latter issue, Judd has emerged as a high-profile critic of the controversial practice known as mountaintop removal mining, in which companies use explosives to blow off the tops of mountains for easier access to coal seams. The practice is common throughout Appalachia, particularly in Eastern Kentucky, where Judd’s family stretches back at least eight generations. In an emotional speech to the National Press Club in 2010, she referred to the practice as a coal industry “rape” of Appalachia and “a stain on the conscience of America.”

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