Alright, alright, alright, while the next Oklahoma gubernatorial election is starting to heat up, there’s another race that could be interesting next year just south of the Red River.
As we draw closer to the 2022 Texas governor race, more names are popping up to challenge current Governor Greg Abott. One possible opponent could be actor Mathew McConaughey.
One of the presumed frontrunners for the Texas Democratic ticket is thought to be former United States Representative Beto O’Rourke. According to recent polling, there could be another challenger approaching.
Spectrum Local News reported “actor Mathew McConaughey leads in a hypothetical matchup against current Texas governor Greg Abott.”
While a celebrity running for political office isn’t new, the thought of McConaughey as the leading man in Texas politics may come by surprise to some. For anyone who has followed Texas politics closely, they’ll know that Mathew McConaughey has expressed some interest in going into a leadership role for awhile.
“What I’ve gotta choose for myself is, I want to get into a leadership role in the next chapter of my life. Now, what role am I gonna be most useful in? I don’t know that that’s in a political position.” McConaughey said in an interview on the Today Show last March.
More recently, the actor appeared on an episode of the podcast “Set it straight: Myths and Legends.” “I’m measuring it,” McConaughey said. “Look, it’s going to be in some capacity. … I just — I’m more of a folksy and philosopher poet statesman than I am a, per se, definitive politician. So I go, well, that’s a reason not to, but then I go, no, that’s exactly why you should, because politics needs redefinition, but I’m measuring, you know, what is my category? What’s my embassy?”
As the presumed frontrunner, O’Rourke has not said much about his potential rival. “I don’t know anything about his potential run other than what I’ve read,” O’Rourke said in an interview with The New York Times.
However, O’Rourke said he is a fan of McConaughey’s acting and is impressed by the effort he has made to help fellow Texans. McConaughey hosted the “We’re Texas” virtual fundraising event in February of this year to help those affected by the record-breaking cold weather.
