UPDATE: Grimes' announcement will be live streamed here:
http://www.whas11.com/...
Sorry to just release another diary but expect to hear some big news today on the 2014 Kentucky U.S. Senate race:
http://wfpl.org/...
Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is meeting with supporters on Monday afternoon and will make an announcement regarding the U.S. Senate race against Republican Mitch McConnell.
Since March, Grimes has been considered the best Democratic choice to run against McConnell in next year’s election at the urging of state and national party figures.
Even though she isn't in the race officially, Grimes hasn't been spared attack ads.
The McConnell campaign, national Republicans and GOP-leaning super PACs have criticized Grimes in recent weeks trying to link her to President Obama's agenda.
Grimes is meeting with a group of regional coordinators at her Frankfort campaign headquarters at 2 p.m., and will talk with the media an hour later.
"I don't know what she's leaning towards. She hasn't told me," says Jonathan Hurst, a Grimes spokesman. "I couldn't make a guess on it and be honest about it." - WFPL News, 89.3, 7/1/13
Grimes has long been touted as the Democrats strongest candidate to go up against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R. KY):
http://thehill.com/...
Grimes, 34, has been one of the most mentioned names among Democrats who could potentially challenge McConnell since actress Ashley Judd announced in March that she would not run.
The daughter of a prominent Kentucky Democratic activist, who has ties to former President Clinton, Lundergan Grimes won the most votes of any Democratic candidate statewide in 2011.
A recent Democratic poll conducted for Senate Majority PAC showed her tied with McConnell. A separate survey from a GOP pollster gave McConnell a 7-point lead.
She has been under pressure for several months to announce whether she'll run. Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said last month Lundergan Grimes was doing a "disservice" to the party by putting off a decision. - The Hill, 7/1/13
Again, here's more details about today's announcement:
http://www.sfgate.com/...
Political adviser Jonathan Hurst said Grimes will meet privately with supporters at 2:30 p.m. EDT Monday in Frankfort and then brief reporters at 3 p.m. Hurst declined to say whether she would be announcing her decision about the race.
"We hope she gets in the race," said Bill Londrigan, president of the Kentucky AFL-CIO. "We think she'd be a wonderful candidate against Mitch McConnell."
So far, Grimes has said little publicly about her political intentions, other than that she is giving the Senate race "due diligence." That hasn't stopped the McConnell campaign and conservative groups from targeting her in online and in television ads.
The group Kentuckians for Strong Leadership is spending $260,000 to run a 30-second TV spot attacking Grimes over the next two weeks. The ad began airing in the Louisville, Lexington and Paducah markets last week and is scheduled to continue through July 11. The ad claims Grimes is President Barack Obama's cheerleader in Kentucky.
The attack is part of a well-used strategy by Kentucky Republicans to try to link the state's Democrats to Obama, who is widely unpopular in Kentucky, a state he lost in both his runs for president. - San Francisco Chronicle, 7/1/13
So we shall be hearing Miss Grimes announcement at 3 PM today. Hopefully she will be declaring her candidacy so we can start fueling her efforts to beat McConnell. Stay tuned!