Actress Ashley Judd is not running for Senate in Kentucky, she announced on her Twitter feed Wednesday afternoon.

ADVERTISEMENT

"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.



Judd had been making preparations for a run, meeting with Washington and Kentucky Democrats in the months prior to discuss a potential challenge to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally MORE (R-Ky.).

She had previously told Kentucky Democrats she planned to make a decision by May. But while some Washington Democrats privately expressed enthusiasm for her potential candidacy, touting her deep pockets and prominent profile, Kentucky Democrats have been less enthused.

Many expressed concern that her outspoken support for President Obama and controversial comments — particularly on mountaintop removal coal mining, which is widespread in Eastern Kentucky — would have undermined her appeal to voters in a state that Obama lost by double-digits in 2012.

Attention will now turn to Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, who is considering a run but has not yet made a bid official.

