Matthew McConaughey announced that he is “seriously considering” a candidacy for governor of Texas, a year before the state election.
The actor revealed his intention in a recent episode of The Balanced Voice podcast, Crime Stoppers of Houston, on Wednesday. He told hostess Rania Mankarious that running for governor was a “real consideration”.
“I am looking at it again, what is my leadership role?” he said. “Why do I think I have some things to teach and share, and what is my role? What is my category in the next chapter of life that I will enter? “
If McConaughey launches a campaign for governor, he will face Greg Abbott, a Republican running for re-election.
This is not the first time that the 51-year-old Oscar winner has suggested the idea. When asked in November 2020 by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt if he would consider an offer, he replied, “It would depend more on the people than on me.” He called the policy “broken business” and said it would only attract more interest when it “redefined its purpose”.
McConaughey’s political affiliation is unknown and many online speculate whether he would run as a Republican or Democrat. Although there is no clear indication of which side he is on, his previous comments on controversial issues such as armed violence, masks and expropriation by the police may offer some clarity.
In October, McConaughey was invited to the Joe Rogan Experience, the popular podcast, where he discussed topics like being a Christian in Hollywood and getting funding from the police. He said that some Hollywood liberals have gone too far to the left.
Discussing his religion, he said: “Some people in our industry, not all, there are some who go to the left so far … who go to the illiberal left side so far, who is so patronizing and patronizing to 50% of the world that needs the empathy that liberals have … Illegitimate them because they say they are believers is very arrogant and, in a way, hypocritical, for me ”.
When asked about withdrawing funds for the police, McConaughey gave a careful answer about how he would try to improve relations between the police and the community. “It is almost as if it should have been renamed because ‘defund’ does not sound like there is money reallocated to different areas for handling some police exercise,” he said.
“The community and the police need to get together again, and the community needs to say, ‘Here is what is unfair. See how I feel it is unfair as a black man or a person of color or whatever the situation is. Here’s my problem with my relationship with you as a cop, ”he continued.
McConaughey said his life practice was to meet in the middle and reach an agreement, which is clear from his other political positions. “The two sides talked,” he said on the White Boy Rick press tour. “Hey, where can we get through the corridor here? Finding a middle ground for the betterment of all of us? “
The actor spoke about the “epidemic” of armed violence in 2018, taking a different stance from his more progressive colleagues. He expressed concern that the March for Our Lives, organized after the shooting at the Parkland school, would be “hijacked” by some anti-gun movement, saying the march was for “legitimate, fair and responsible possession of weapons – but against rifles assault, against unlimited searches and to follow the regulations ”.
At the beginning of the pandemic, McConaughey filmed pro-mask PSAs and interviewed Dr. Anthony Fauci on Instagram. In an interview with Jesse Will for the Men’s Journal, he lamented how the wearing of masks had been politicized on both sides of the spectrum. “It was clear that there was no plan. Our leaders were fighting, ”he said.
In the same interview, he addressed the possible message of a hypothetical campaign – not the “Do America well, okay, okay again” that many of his fans joked about, but a more serious “find me in the middle – I dare up “. The message follows the same philosophy as his bestselling autobiography, Greenlights: “When facing any crisis, I discovered that a good plan is to first recognize the problem, then stabilize the situation, organize the response and then respond.”
Regardless of his political affiliation, McConaughey’s love for the Lone Star state is evident in his many philanthropic projects through his foundation, the Just Keep Livin ‘Organization. When his home state was hit by a severe winter storm in February, McConaughey offered a virtual benefit through his foundation to provide Texans with “basic needs”.