Alison Lundergan Grimes entering Walker Hall.

Facing the crucible that is speaking at the Fancy Farm Annual Political Stump Speak has been compared to entering the Coliseum of Rome with half the lions on your side and the other half with teeth and claws ready.

Candidates have fallen off the charts because of a misstep during their few minutes in the spotlight.

Kentucky Secretary State Alison Lundergan Grimes is ready for the test on Saturday morning. She’s been sharpening her rhetoric at every stop on her Bus Tour to Fancy Farm that culminates tomorrow in a small predominantly Catholic community.

What does it take to get up in front of thousands of screaming people- half of them are screaming taunts and the other half screaming approval?

According to Grimes, it takes “fire in the belly.”

In an interview before the labor luncheon, Grimes said that she is getting hope and encouragement along the way from the thousands of Kentuckians depending on her to win a historic victory against thirty year incumbent Senator Mitch McConnell.

With crowds expected to be at record levels and press from around the world converging on Graves County, Kentucky, Grimes will get more scrutiny of her speech – and her poise – than many a candidate in many a year.

She’s confident she can meet the challenge. At each whistle stop she urges supporters to “Tell everyone there’s a strong Kentucky woman coming,”