#Playboy october 1993 cover professional#
“Personality trumps policy,” he said, likening McConaughey to former President Trump or Jesse Ventura, the former professional wrestler turned governor of Minnesota. Where does he stand on the great issues? What are the priorities?”Īustin-based GOP strategist Brendan Steinhauser disagreed. “It says something about the shallowness of our politics that we’re even talking about somebody who has no declared position or record of policy involvement. “He hasn’t staked out positions with Texans,” Rove said. Rove last week chafed at a potential McConaughey campaign, calling it “unlikely” and the actor's election as governor “impossible.” I’d be happy to talk if and when Matthew actually declares.” “I’ve been dealing with this over and over. “Karl has gotten me in a lot of trouble,” Wright said via email last week. Bush into the Texas governor’s mansion and then the White House, told Politco last spring that a possible McConaughey campaign had his pal Lawrence Wright, the Austin-based author and New Yorker writer, “hyperventilating.” Karl Rove, the GOP strategist who shepherded George W. “We wouldn’t say anything prior to him announcing,” Pizzolatto’s representative said. Those close to McConaughey in Austin - including Richard Linklater, who directed "Dazed and Confused," and Nic Pizzolatto, who wrote "True Detective" - have been tight-lipped about his plans. He said he didn’t know enough about Texas restrictions on voting rights to weigh in. But the actor, who has often talked about his Christian faith, stopped short of condemning the ban. When pressed, McConaughey said he supports mask mandates and was troubled that the state abortion ban took effect at six weeks of gestation and made no exception for victims of rape and incest. “It can be very hard down the center.”ĭuring the podcast, he tried to avoid sensitive topics - difficult, given that the current governor has embraced far-right bans on abortion and COVID-19 vaccination mandates. “I don’t know if you can walk down the center and not be in trouble,” he said. “Is that a place to make real change, or is it a place where, hey, right now, it’s a fixed game?” he said during Swisher’s “Sway” podcast, describing himself as “aggressively centrist.” This month, McConaughey - who rose to fame playing Texans in “Dazed and Confused," "Dallas Buyers Club” and “True Detective” - told the New York Times’ Kara Swisher he was still “measuring” a possible campaign, while dismissing politics as “a bag of rats.” McConaughey’s spokeswoman declined comment last week about whether he plans to run. “He has been making and receiving calls with people from all over the state." “No decision has been made," O’Rourke spokesman David Wysong said last week.
The progressive Democrat Beto O’Rourke of El Paso, a former congressman and candidate for president and Senate, is also exploring a campaign. Abbott, a former Texas attorney general and judge, is running for reelection to a third term and already faces two far-right challengers. The filing deadline for the March 1 primary is Dec. If he’s going to do it, he would do everyone a service by not stringing us along,” Henson said. “I’m not really interested unless he commits. Jim Henson, who directs the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, has yet to conduct a poll about the actor because, he said, “I’m deeply skeptical.” He needs to pick a party,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, chair of the Texas Democratic Party. “He appears to be simply enjoying the publicity. But it’s unclear what party McConaughey would join. Greg Abbott, and the rest would choose another candidate.
In a poll last month by the Dallas Morning News/University of Texas at Tyler, 44% of voters favored McConaughey, 35% favored incumbent Republican Gov. Matthew McConaughey performs June 19 before a home game between the Austin FC and San Jose Earthquakes at Q2 Stadium.