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Fresh off the back of adding ‘author’ to his resume, Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey is now considering running for Governor of Texas.
McConaughey confirmed he had toyed with the ideas of running for Governor of Texas during an interview with CBS This Morning. “I’m giving it consideration. I would be a fool not to. It’s a very honorable thing to consider, you know, what that position would mean. What would it be for me, what would it mean for the people of Texas,” he said.
“As I’ve said before and I’ll say again now, I have to decide for me what is my category where I can be most useful in life from here?”
The 51-year-old actor made the remarks off the back of his hugely successful ‘We’re Texas’ virtual concert which raised funds for residents affected by the freak winter storm that ravaged the state last month.
As a lifelong Texan, McConaughey was spurred into action and wasted no time in flexing his Hollywood muscle to make things happen.
Join Me – Sunday, March 21, 7pm CT for #WereTexas, a virtual revival concert where we can all come together to help Texans affected by Storm Uri get back on their feet..We’ve got @PostMalone @WillieNelson @thegreatKhalid @LeonBridges @KacyMusgaves @KellyClarkson @MirandaLambert pic.twitter.com/PlL4WiuQww
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) March 18, 2021
“As soon as Camila and I said ‘okay, something needs to be done, what do we need to do,’ we came up with the idea of the benefit,” McConaughey said on “CBS This Morning” last Wednesday.
“And then I get on the phone, and in 30 seconds — every performer, every Texas business, every sports star is like ‘Yes, what do you need me to do, tell me when and where I’m in.'”
The result was a virtual concert that included Post Malone, Kacey Musgraves, Kelly Clarkson and Miranda Lambert.
But other than proving that the True Detective star has an impressive contact list, it also showed McConaughey in a light that he has been carefully cultivating: saviour of the Lone Star state.
The fact that McConaughey is considering running for Governor of Texas should come as little surprise to those who have been keeping an eye on his movements.
Born and bred in Texas, McConaughey has always been loyal to his hometown, but in the past few years, the visibility of ‘brand McConaughey’ has gone through the roof in Texas. He’s now the co-owner of the states’ soccer team, Austin FC, as well as being an honorary professor at the University of Texas.
Running For Governor of Texas may seem like the next logical step. Still, if we’ve learned anything from the disastrous Donald Trump experiment, celebrities don’t make for the best political leaders.
And while Arnold Schwarzenegger arguably overachieved as the Governator of California during his term from 2003 until 2011, the problem with McConaughey is that he has flip-flopped on the political position in the past.
McConaughey has voted twice in Texas since 2012 — in the 2018 and 2020 general elections, according to his latest voter history file with the secretary of state’s office. There is no record of him giving at the state or federal levels when it comes to campaign contributions.
Following Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 US Presidential Election, McConaughey appeared on Russell Brand’s Under The Skin podcast to discuss the increasing polarisation of the political landscape.
“The illiberal left is going about it the wrong way; they absolutely condescend, patronize or are arrogant towards that other 50%,” explained McConaughey.
But he stopped short of offering clarity on which side of the politics he would fall on should he consider running for Governor of Texas, instead choosing to declare himself “aggressively centrist.”
