Matthew McConaughey won’t run for Texas governor after all
Superstar Matthew McConaughey has decided that while service is a mainstay of life, his path does not lie in the realm of politics – at least for now.
After a year of publicly musing about a potential run at the Texas governorship next year, the Academy Award-winning actor said Sunday he has opted not to run.
“It’s a humbling and inspiring path to ponder,” he said of politics. “It is also a path that I’m choosing not to take at this moment.”
The 52-year-old actor said he would instead focus on supporting businesses and foundations that create pathways for others to succeed.
He had never spoken about policy or confronted controversial issues in Texas, his home state, or identified a party.
The 2022 Texas governorship will be among the highest-profile in the country, with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott seeking a third term and Democrat Beto O’Rourke, after taking stabs at Congress and the presidency, announcing he plans to run.
In a video posted to Twitter, the Academy Award winner, who has starred in “Dazed and Confused” and “Dallas Buyers Club,” among many other movies, said that politics needs some help but that politicians themselves can only channel what the people want.
“Politicians? The good ones can help us to get to where we need to go, yeah,” McConaughey said. “But let’s be clear, they can’t do anything for us unless we choose to do for ourselves.”
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) November 29, 2021
McConaughey got blowback from the U.S. Surgeon General earlier this month when he announced that he and his wife were holding off on the approved coronavirus vaccines for their kids. He said he planned to “find out more information” and that he opposed vaccine mandates for children.
