Matthew McConaughey will not run for governor of Texas “yet,” the Oscar-winning actor said on Sunday, after months of speculation he would make the leap into politics.
The 52-year-old’s political ambitions had sparked enthusiasm in liberal circles, and especially among Texans appalled by Governor Greg Abbott, who signed a very restrictive law banning most abortions.
“As an ordinary kid born in the small town of Uvalde, Texas, it never occurred to me that I would one day be considered for political leadership,” the comedy hero said. romantic turned serious actor in a video posted online.
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“It is a path of humility and inspiration to be meditated on. It is also a path that I choose not to take at this time.
Polls have shown McConaughey would fare better against Abbott than Beto O’Rourke, the former Democratic presidential candidate who officially entered the race earlier this month.
Abbott is running for a third term in the November 2022 election, for which nominations close on December 13.
McConaughey told AFP earlier this month that a gubernatorial campaign had “been discussed. It is a possible lead.
The “Dallas Buyers Club” and “True Detective” star had not sworn allegiance to any of the major parties.
He described himself as “aggressively centrist,” adding, “Not because it’s the place of gray and compromise… I think today is a daring space. It is the space of the outlaws.
In Sunday’s video, McConaughey said his ruminations on state and national politics taught him that “we have problems that we need to solve; that our policy needs a new goal; that we have divisions that need to be healed.
He pledged to use his time instead to support businesses and foundations “creating pathways for people to be successful in life.”