Decision before the Derby from Ashley Judd?

>>> remains all the buzz and not for her acting or activism. the kentucky native is taking polls to see how bl she auto would do in a home state senate run against mitch mcconnell , a possibility making some democrats on the national stage salivate with happiness. even the "new york times" says that bourbon country movers and shakers are not ruling out this possibility. the high profile actress and activist is also causing a little bit of concern. james carol is the washington bureau chief of the louisville courier journal and joins me. good to have you with me. the kentucky congressman john yarmouth said to a local station this morning that he says that she didn't say it to me but apparently she is going to make a decision by derby which is an important time to set your clock by in kentucky . in the meantime roll call is reporting there is fear among the kentucky state democrats that she would throw her hat into the ring, so what are you hearing through your sources about the possibility of the timing?

>> well, that's the thing. she is doing a lot of this sort of very quietly, out of sight, so we have to sort of pick up the pieces where we hear them. she has told some people in kentucky that she would make a decision by derby day and, you're right, that's probably the biggest day other than christmas in kentucky . so that's a big one. i should correct that actually of course march madness if the kentucky teams are --

>> yeah.

>> she is talking to people. she is doing this in a very considerate and slow way and some people are sort of making jokes this is day 100 or around day 100 of the kentucky senate race held hostage. the whole race is frozen on the democratic side until she makes a decision. there are democrats in kentucky worried that she is too liberal and that she could pull down other people on the ticket if she lost as well. other democrats are saying that they're talking to a lot of people around kentucky that say she sort of and she would do very well. again, that's what she is trying to figure out right now herself.

>> james , let's talk about the concerns, the "new york times" says the scenario is a dream for conservatives because we see this famous actress and one with an obama following, radical hollywood liberal type going up against mcconnell , a mane the daily beast describes as one of the most disciplined and effective political strategists of oera. when we look at the brands what is the likelihood of her winning ?

>> there have been early polls which of course are about as worth what they're printed on the paper they're printed on. some polls, mcconnell 's people have done a recent poll that showed him up 9 points. that would be encouraging. people the democrats would point out up nine points on somebody that i think the numbers were 49 to 40 against somebody who has not announced she is running for anything, hasn't raised money, hasn't run an ad, near total name recking on in i guess in kentucky and so again there is pluses and minuses on both sides, but if it comes down to purely an ideological battle, then the betting is that she would not prevail in kentucky but a lot of people are cautioning that a lot of these senate races, especially in an off year, they may come down to other factors. mcconnell himself is running for a sixth term. he has been here in washington since 1985 and some people even in the republican party are saying they want to see a change.

>> certainly make for interesting debates, that's for sure. james , nice to see you. thank you.