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Is Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell just a bit worried about the prospect of running for reelection to 2014 against actress/activist Ashley Judd?

We ask that question because the senior senator from Kentucky put up his today and it goes after Ms. Judd and three other possible Democratic challengers pretty hard. She鈥檚 not the only person mentioned, but she gets more than her share of the three-minute spot, and it ends with her speaking. Not that it鈥檚 putting her words in a positive light, of course.

The ad is called 鈥�Obama鈥檚 Kentucky Candidate,鈥� and it鈥檚 pretty clever. The premise is that the president is holding some sort of town hall meeting to pick Senator McConnell鈥檚 opponent, and he goes from one person to the next, trying to find the chosen one. The video editing is clever and the whole thing looks quite real.

First up is Ed Marksberry, a former congressional candidate depicted by the ad as a yokel. Then there鈥檚 former US Ambassador to Sweden Matthew Barzun, shown marching in full top-hatted regalia in some sort of European parade. 鈥淗e鈥檚 looking very sharp,鈥� says Obama in a voice-over cut from a real town hall.

Then Obama calls on 鈥渢he young lady with the pink, white blouse right there.... Wait until the microphone comes up. Introduce yourself.鈥�

Next thing you know, there鈥檚 Judd standing at the podium at last year鈥檚 Democratic convention, saying, 鈥淔rom the Volunteer State, I proudly stand to nominate ...鈥�

鈥淲hoa, whoa, whoa,鈥� goes Obama in the reaction shot, cut to make it appear as if he disapproves. In case you missed the subtlety there, Tennessee is the Volunteer State. That鈥檚 where Judd has been living with her soon-to-be-ex-husband, Dario Franchitti. She was a Democratic National Convention delegate from Tennessee, not from Kentucky. The ad goes on to make that abundantly clear, alternating shots of her saying 鈥淭ennessee is home鈥� with appearances from another possible candidate, Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, as well as a host of popular state Democrats saying they won鈥檛 run.

Why is McConnell running this ad so early? Why did Karl Rove鈥檚 American Crossroads pay for an online spot hitting Judd alone?

After all, she is indeed a Hollywood liberal, according to her own grandmother. The Tennessee thing is going to be a big problem if she runs 鈥� which by the way she hasn鈥檛 said she鈥檚 doing. She鈥檚 just honored by the attention, and considering it, and so forth.

Kentucky went big for Mitt Romney last fall. It should be a safe GOP seat.

But McConnell does not poll well in his own state at the moment, perhaps because of his role on the national stage. A recent Courier-Journal Bluegrass poll found that only 17 percent of the state鈥檚 voters said they would be sure to support him. Thirty-four percent said they planned to oppose him. Forty-four percent said they were waiting to see who his opponent will be before deciding.

It鈥檚 possible that leaves an opening for Judd.

鈥淚t鈥檚 safe to say that if she ran, she could put in big money, raise a lot more and perhaps put McConnell under unprecedented scrutiny at a time when he鈥檚 not all that popular,鈥� writes Al Cross, an associate professor of journalism at the University of Kentucky and a former Courier-Journal political writer, in a .

A puts McConnell ahead of Judd by 49 to 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup. The survey was taken by Harper Polling in conjunction with RunSwitch Public Relations, a firm founded by a former McConnell aide.

鈥淢y takeaways from the survey are that Senator McConnell is in solid shape among Republicans and general election voters, and that Ashley Judd, for someone who has never run for office, already has a tough hold out of which to climb regarding her own image,鈥� said RunSwitch founding partner Scott Jennings in a statement upon the poll release.

That鈥檚 one way to look at it. And it鈥檚 true the poll found that voters reacted negatively when told Judd has been living in Tennessee, for instance. But if you were minority leader of the US Senate, someone striking key fiscal deals with the White House, wouldn鈥檛 you think you could lead the costar of 鈥�Tooth Fairy鈥� by more than that?

鈥淭ennessee is my home!鈥� are the last words on the new McConnell ad. If she does run, that鈥檚 a phrase that鈥檚 going to be drilled into every potential voter in the Bluegrass State approximately a zillion times prior to Election Day.