Editing Ashley Judd (section)

== Political activities ==

In 2008, Judd supported [[Barack Obama]]'s presidential campaign. In 2009, she appeared in a one-minute video advertisement for the [[Defenders of Wildlife|Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund]], in which Judd condemned [[Governor of Alaska|Alaska Governor]] [[Sarah Palin]] for supporting aerial [[wolf hunting]].<ref>{{cite web |website=[[The Raw Story]]|url= http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Judd_goes_after_Palin_over_aerial_0203.html |title=Actress Judd goes after Palin over aerial wolf killing |date=February 3, 2009 |author=David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster}}</ref> In response, Palin stated the reason these wolves are killed is to protect the [[caribou]] population in Alaska. Palin called the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund an "extreme fringe group".<ref>{{cite news |url= http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/04/palin-takes-on-ashley-judd%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98extreme-fringe-group%E2%80%99/ |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120717125629/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/04/palin-takes-on-ashley-judd%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98extreme-fringe-group%E2%80%99/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= July 17, 2012 |title=Palin takes on Ashley Judd's 'extreme fringe group' |date=February 4, 2009 |first=Peter |last=Hamby | publisher=CNN}}</ref> In 2010, Judd signed the [[Animal Legal Defense Fund]]'s petition to urge [[Kentucky Governor]] [[Steve Beshear]] to protect that state's homeless animals through tough enforcement of Kentucky's Humane Shelter Law.<ref>[http://aldf.org/article.php?id=1350 Animal Legal Defense Fund: Ashley Judd Petitions Kentucky Governor to Help Homeless Animals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722211925/http://aldf.org/article.php?id=1350 |date=July 22, 2011 }}. Aldf.org (May 11, 2010). Retrieved on April 11, 2011.</ref>
[[File:Richard Lugar and Ashley Judd.jpg|thumb|right|Judd meeting with Senator [[Richard Lugar]] in 2005]]
She was appointed Global Ambassador for YouthAIDS, an education and prevention program of the international NGO Population Services International (PSI), promoting AIDS prevention and treatment. Judd was honored November 10, 2009, as the recipient of the fourth annual ''USA&nbsp;Today'' Hollywood Hero, awarded for her work with PSI.<ref>[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/marketing/media_kit/pressroom/2009/releases/091609_hollywood_hero_2009.html Hero Award honors Ashley Judd for her work with Global Health Organization PSI] September 16, 2009. ''USA Today''. Retrieved on April 11, 2011.</ref> On October 29, 2006, Judd appeared at a "Women for Ford" event for [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] Tennessee [[United States Senate|Senate]] candidate [[Harold Ford Jr.]] She has also campaigned extensively both locally and nationally for a variety of Democratic candidates, including President Barack Obama in critical swing states.

On September 8, 2010, [[CNN]] interviewed Judd about her second humanitarian mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/09/02/judd.congo.conflict.minerals/ |title=Ashley Judd confronts Africa's deadly mineral issue |date=September 8, 2009 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> Judd traveled with the [[Enough Project]], a project to end genocide and crimes against humanity. In the interview, Judd discussed her efforts to raise awareness about how [[conflict minerals]] fuel sexual violence in Congo. During her trip, Judd visited hospitals for victims of sexual violence, camps for displaced persons, mines, and civil society organizations. On September 30, 2010, CNN published an op-ed titled "Ashley Judd: Electronics fuel unspeakable violence"<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/09/30/ashley.judd.africa |title=Ashley Judd: Electronics fuel unspeakable violence |date=September 30, 2010 |author=Ashley Judd and John Prendergast |work=CNN}}</ref> by Judd and Enough Project co-founder [[John Prendergast (activist)|John Prendergast]] regarding the continued violence in Congo. On November 26, 2010, she published a subsequent op-ed, "Costs of Convenience",<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ashley-judd/post_1312_b_786835.html |title=Ashley Judd: "Costs of Convenience" |date=November 26, 2010 |author=Ashley Judd |work=The Huffington Post}}</ref> excerpted from her trip diary from eastern Congo. These pieces discussed the recent provision in the [[Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act|Dodd-Frank Reform bill]] that requires companies to prove where their minerals originated, and the link between modern electronics (which rely on those minerals) and mining camps plagued by such violence.

Judd represented Tennessee as a delegate to the [[2012 Democratic National Convention]]. She also considered [[United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2014|returning to Kentucky and challenging]] Senator [[Mitch McConnell]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20121108/NEWS01/311080073/Ashley-Judd-doesn-t-rule-out-challenge-U-S-Sen-Mitch-McConnell |title=Ashley Judd doesn't rule out challenge to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell |work=Courier-Journal |date=November 8, 2012 |access-date=December 18, 2012}}</ref> In response, the conservative Super PAC [[American Crossroads]] released an [[attack ad]] against Judd in Kentucky.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/02/ashley-judd-takes-jabs-from-conservative-super-pac |title=Ashley Judd Takes Jabs From Conservative Super PAC |work=ABC News |date=February 6, 2013 |access-date=February 26, 2013}}</ref>

In February 2013, she invited her Twitter followers to join a mailing list, hinting that she might ultimately announce a run for the Senate to those on the list.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/us/politics/kentuckians-dont-rule-out-ashley-judd-as-potential-senator.html |title=Kentuckians don't rule out a star as a potential senator |first=Trip |last=Gabriel |work=The New York Times |date=February 15, 2013 |access-date=February 16, 2013}}</ref> However, she announced on March 27, 2013, that she would not run, citing her need to be focused on her family.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ashley Judd won't run for Senate in Kentucky |url= https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/146015-ashley-judd-wont-run-for-senate/ |work=The Hill |date= March 27, 2013 |access-date=March 27, 2013 |last1= Jaffe |first1= Alexandra }}</ref> Judd later endorsed [[Secretary of State of Kentucky|Kentucky Secretary of State]] [[Alison Lundergan Grimes]].<ref>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |url=http://wfpl.org/post/ashley-judd-ready-fight-beside-alison-lundergan-grimes-race-against-mitch-mcconnell |title=Ashley Judd 'Ready to Fight' Beside Alison Lundergan Grimes in Race Against Mitch McConnell – 89.3 WFPL |publisher=Wfpl.org |date=July 3, 2013 |access-date=May 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905230730/http://wfpl.org/post/ashley-judd-ready-fight-beside-alison-lundergan-grimes-race-against-mitch-mcconnell |archive-date=September 5, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/onpolitics/2013/07/03/ashley-judd-lundergan-grimes-kentucky-senate/2485943/ |title=Ashley Judd backs Grimes for Senate |date=July 3, 2013 |work=[[USA Today]] |accessdate=August 3, 2022}}</ref>

On July 26, 2016, Judd attended a [[Creative Coalition]] luncheon in support of [[Statehood movement in the District of Columbia|DC Statehood]] that took place during the [[2016 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]] in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Celebrities Join Push for DC Statehood|url=https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/celebrities-join-push-for-dc-statehood/59317/|access-date=May 15, 2021|website=NBC4 Washington|date=July 26, 2016 |language=en-US}}</ref> The event, hosted by Washington, DC Mayor [[Muriel Bowser]] and [[Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives|Del.]] [[Eleanor Holmes Norton]], also included actors [[Elizabeth Banks]], [[Tim Daly]], [[Josh Gad]], [[William Baldwin]], and [[David Schwimmer]].

In January 2020, Judd endorsed Democratic Senator [[Elizabeth Warren]] in her run for the [[2020 United States presidential election|presidency]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/25/us/politics/elizabeth-warren-ashley-judd-2020.html|title=Ashley Judd Wants the Next Women's March to Be a 'Victory March'|last=Buckley|first=Cara|date=January 25, 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 2, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

On July 12, 2024, Judd wrote an op-ed for ''[[USA Today]]'' calling on President [[Joe Biden]] to suspend his [[Joe Biden 2024 presidential campaign|2024 reelection campaign]]. She wrote Biden was "incapable of countering Trump, while he, unchecked, gushed a firehose of galling lies" at the [[2024 United States presidential debates#June 27 presidential debate (Atlanta)|first presidential debate of the cycle]] in late June, 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kinnard |first1=Meg |title=Actor Ashley Judd, a Democratic activist, adds her voice to those calling on Biden to leave the race |url=https://apnews.com/article/ashley-judd-biden-democrats-1538d530d0de492af281fe0b003c7919 |access-date=July 12, 2024 |publisher=Associated Press |date=July 12, 2024}}</ref> ''[[The Independent]]'' called it "a deeply personal and heartfelt op-ed".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kilander |first1=Gustaf |title=Ashley Judd pens deeply personal op-ed calling on Biden to step aside: 'We can't risk a Trump presidency' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ashley-judd-joe-biden-donald-trump-b2578799.html |access-date=July 12, 2024 |work=The Independent |date=July 12, 2024}}</ref>