Hollywood and politics have long been intertwined, and many ambitious A-listers have gone on to seek political office. Over the decades we’ve seen Jesse Ventura, Clint Eastwood, and Arnold Schwarzenegger entering politics, though the most famous example is obviously former President Ronald Reagan.
But throughout 2021, there’s been a lot of gossip that Matthew McConaughey would join them. With his popularity skyrocketing over the last decade, he considered running to become Governor of Texas. Last year he refused to rule it out, saying:
“I don’t know. I mean, that wouldn’t be up to me. It would be up to the people more than it would me. I would say this. Look, politics seems to be a broken business to me right now. And when politics redefines its purpose, I could be a hell of a lot more interested. I want to get behind personal values to rebind our social contracts with each other as Americans, as people again.”
But now he’s released a video on Twitter saying now’s not the time.
McConaughey described the prospect of political office as “a humbling and inspiring path to ponder”, but said, “It is also a path that I am choosing not to take at this moment.” However, he also clarified that he’s going to continue his philanthropic work:
“I am going to continue to work and invest the bounty I have by supporting entrepreneurs, businesses and foundations that I believe are leaders, establishments that I believe are creating pathways for people to succeed in life”
Advance polling had suggested McConaughey would have had a good chance of winning, with 44% of Texans saying that they would vote for him over Republican incumbent Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke.
A McConaughey run would likely have seen him enter the race as an independent candidate, and I’d have been very interested in seeing what his policies would be and his plans for Texas. But, for now, we can only imagine.
While he’s not entering this race, he’s clearly taking the potential political office very seriously, so I wouldn’t rule out seeing Matthew McConaughey on the ballot at some point in the future.