Senate's McConnell braces for tough re-election fight

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is gearing up for a tough re-election fight next year in Kentucky.

He wants to prevent one, too.

McConnell is trying to head off a GOP primary challenge by cozying up to the tea party. He's also trying to scare off potential Democratic contenders -- actress Ashley Judd is one -- by providing a glimpse of his no-holds-barred political tactics.

The strategy seems to be working, so far. No serious Republican opponent has emerged.

Democrats haven't fielded a candidate yet, though Judd, a Kentucky native who lives in Tennessee, is considering a run. She would have to re-establish a residence in Kentucky before she could challenge McConnell.

"We know that President Obama's allies in Washington are doing everything they can to find a candidate to run against me in a primary or a general election," McConnell said in a statement to The Associated Press. "They've made no secrets about their willingness to back anybody right, left, or center to get me out of their way."

Defeating McConnell would be the Democrats' biggest prize of the 2014 election. His seat is one of 14 that Republicans are defending while Democrats try to hold on to 21, hoping to retain or add to their 55-45 edge.

McConnell, 71, first elected to the Senate in 1984, is a resilient politician with an unbroken string of victories and a reputation of pummeling opponents.

He is taunting would-be Democratic challengers in a comical online video intended to raise second thoughts about taking on a politician known as a brawler. The video shows Judd, who has a home in the Nashville, Tenn., suburbs, saying "Tennessee is home" and that San Francisco is "my American city home."