Could Matthew McConaughey Actually Be the Next Governor of Texas?

A new poll shows the actor neck-and-neck with Gov. Greg Abbott

Matthew McConaughey performs before the start of the inaugural home game between the San Jose Earthquakes and Austin FC at Q2 Stadium on June 19, 2021 in Austin, Texas.
Matthew McConaughey performs before the inaugural home game between the San Jose Earthquakes and Austin FC at Q2 Stadium on June 19, 2021 in Austin, Texas.
Getty Images

Matthew McConaughey has been open about the fact that he’s weighing a 2022 run for governor of Texas, calling it a “true consideration” back in March. And as a new poll suggests, if he does wind up throwing his hat into the ring, he could give Republican incumbent Greg Abbott a run for his money.

As The Wrap reports, a new poll of 1,090 registered voters conducted by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler shows the actor narrowly trailing Abbott, with 38% of Texans saying they support him compared to Abbott’s 39%. (Roughly 23% of respondents said they preferred neither and supported other candidates.)

It’s worth noting that McConaughey has still not officially declared his intention to run. But the Dazed and Confused star sure seems like he could be gearing up for some sort of political future, as he recently posted a message about the state of the country on his social media for the Fourth of July.

In the video message, which he captioned “happy 245th birthday America – lets rock,” McConaughey pointed out that America is still going through some “growing pains.”

“As we celebrate our independence today, as we celebrate our birth as a nation, the day that kickstarted a revolution to gain our sovereignty, let’s admit that this last year, this trip around the sun, was also another head-scratcher,” he said. “But let’s also remember that we’re babies as a country. We’re basically going through puberty in comparison to other countries’ timeline, and we’re going to go through growing pains. We are going through growing pains.”

“This is not an excuse, this is just the reality, and this is good, because we gotta keep learning, we gotta keep maturing, we gotta keep striving, we gotta keep climbing, we gotta keep building,” he continued. “And we gotta make sure we maintain hope along the way, as we continue to evolve. Why? Because it’s who we are. So, as we celebrate the red, white and blue this weekend, let’s be sure and just reflect just a minute, take a little bit of inventory on where we’ve come from, where we are, and how and where we want to go from here on the way to being the best we can be.” 

Will those kinds of speeches be enough to win him votes in Texas? That remains to be seen, but for now he remains neck-and-neck with Abbott.

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