Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has a slight (but insignificant) lead over actor Matthew McConaughey in a hypothetical matchup between the two, according to a new poll from The Dallas Morning News and University of Texas.
- About 39% of Texans polled support Abbott.
- And 38% of Texas residents support McConaughey in this theoretical matchup.
The Dallas Morning News poll — which was conducted from June 22 to June 29 — had a survey answered from 1,090 voters. It had an error margin of 3.4 percentage points.
McConaughey has not declared he would run for office (he also doesn’t have any political affiliation nor announced a bid with either party). However, he said he has given “honest consideration” to the idea, the Dallas Morning News reports. McConaughey has reportedly reached out to influential people in the state to see if he could make a serious run for office, Politico reports.
- There’s some speculation that 2020 presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke will run, though. Abbott defeats O’Rourke in a general election battle, 45%-33%.
McConaughey said in a social media speech in which he talked about the previous year, calling it “another head-scratcher.”
- “But let’s also remember that we’re babies as a country,” he said, according to Entertainment Weekly. “We’re basically going through puberty in comparison to other countries’ timelines, and we’re going to go through growing pains. We are going through growing pains.
- “This is not an excuse to say, this is just the reality, and this is good because we got to keep learning, we got to keep maturing, we gotta keep striving, we gotta keep climbing, we gotta keep building,” he continued. “And we gotta make sure we maintain hope along the way, as we continue to evolve. Why? ’Cause it’s who we are. Why? Because the alternative sucks.”
McConaughey said he sees America as an “aspirational” country, adding that the differences between people make America great.
- “Hence the ‘United States,’’ he said.