Matthew McConaughey says he won’t run for Texas governor - here’s why

Matthew McConaughey has announced that he will not be running for Texas governor in 2022 after previously eyeing up the prospect.

The Oscar-winning actor detailed his decision not to run in a three-minute video posted on November 28 across his social media platforms where he revealed that he will not be pursuing a career in politics... for now.

“Over the past two years, I’ve been working on the answer to the question of how I can be most useful in this life, going forward. Useful to myself, useful to my family, and to the most amount of people. One category of service I’ve been exploring is politics. I’ve been considering a run for the governor of Texas,” he explained.

The 52-year-old noted how he has been listening, learning, measuring while also studying Texas and American politics.

“What have I learned? A lot,” he said.

“That we have some problems we need to fix. That our politics needs new purpose. That we have divides that need healing. That we need more trust in our lives. That we gotta start shining a light on our shared values — the ones that cross party lines, the ones that build bridges, instead of burn ‘em.”

During his message, McConaughey also took the time to reflect on what service and leadership mean, saying: “freedom comes with responsibility and that great leaders serve” and added that service is “taking on responsibility today so we can have more freedom tomorrow.”

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After identifying what he believes needs to happen, McConaughey then turned to address rumours of his possible candidacy.

“As a simple kid born in the little town of Uvalde, Texas, it never occurred to me that I would one day be considered for political leadership. It’s a humbling and inspiring path to ponder,” he said.

“It is also a path that I am choosing not to take at this moment.”

McConaughey had built some momentum around his possible candidacy after a poll back in April this year by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler found that he had more support than the incumbent Republican governor, Greg Abbott at the time.

The poll showed in a hypothetical election, McConaughey gained 45% support, Abbott received 33%, and 22% said they would vote for someone else.

In light of this news, people on Twitter shared their thoughts on McConaughey’s decision not to run.

Some were happy to hear that he would not be the latest A-list celebrity to dip their toes into politics.

While others were disappointed at the news and were hoping that McConaughey would run for governor of Texas next year.

Instead of running, the Dallas Buyers Club actor has said he will continue to work and invest his “bounty” supporting “entrepreneurs, businesses and foundations” that are “creating pathways for people to succeed in life, organisations that have a mission to serve and build trust while also generating prosperity,” and described this as “the American Dream.”

“Politicians, the good ones, can help us get to where we need to go,” he ended his video by saying. “But let’s be clear, they can’t do anything for us unless we choose to do for ourselves.”