FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has talked a second time with actress Ashley Judd and says she would be "an effective and formidable" challenger to Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Beshear said Tuesday he's convinced that Judd, a former Kentucky resident now living in Tennessee, is seriously considering the race.

Judd hasn't said whether she will run, but she has been talking with leading Democrats in Kentucky about the race.

McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, has been preparing for his re-election bid even though no serious challenger has entered the race. He already has raised some $10 million.

McConnell also recruited a campaign manager from the upper echelons of the tea party. Jesse Benton, who managed U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's campaign in Kentucky in 2010, signed on last year.

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