Clearing Up the Disinformation in the Potential Ashley Judd/Mitch McConnell Battle

Be sure to subscribe to The Recovering Politician‘s KY Political Brief (click here RIGHT NOW to do so — It’s delivered daily to your inbox FOR FREE!), for all the news on the potential epic 2014 U.S. Senate battle between Ashley Judd and Mitch McConnell.

As Ashley Judd considers making an historic bid for the U.S. Senate against Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, GOP forces — abetted by a handful of Democrats  — have been spreading piles of disinformation about the race.

In separate stories, ABC News and CBS News have helped clear through the fog of spin.

ABC reveals this morning that the widely reported tale that former President Bill Clinton was actively opposing an Ashley Judd candidacy is, in fact, a fabricated myth:

ABC News has learned that Clinton encouraged Judd to enter the race and promised he would help her, according to several Kentucky political sources. That conversation happened sometime between the November election and President Barack Obama’s second inauguration…

The Clintons are longtime friends and allies of Grimes’s father, Jerry Lundergan, a former state party chairman, and Grimes herself who became secretary of state in 2011 after beating her primary challenger who was backed by Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear. Allies of hers say she is considering this race, but has not made a decision. Jerry Lundergan was a strong supporter of Bill Clinton, but also of Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid in 2008, and they remain close.

However, the Clintons are also close to Judd, who publicly backed Hillary Clinton over then Senator Obama in 2008 and even campaigned with Bill Clinton on behalf of Hillary in March 2008. Just days before the Texas primary, Clinton and Judd campaigned together standing in the back of a pickup truck at a private airport hangar in Abilene, Texas. She entertained the crowd, while Clinton was hours late due to a lightning storm…

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) is Judd’s most vocal proponent in the state and in an interview said Grimes would also “be a strong opponent against Mitch McConnell,” but “nobody brings to the table the unique assets that Ashley Judd does.”

“There are a lot of Democrats right now who are expressing some concern about her candidacy and what I would say to them is, We’ve tried five conventional campaigns in a row against Mitch McConnell and been unsuccessful,” Yarmuth said, adding that he called Grimes, but she had not called him back yet.

Meanwhile CBS This Morning ran this following clarifying piece on the race: