ABOVE: Faithwire.com‘s Billy Hallowell appeared on the Tuesday edition of CBN’s Morning Newswatch to discuss the results of a recent poll by the University of Texas and the Dallas Morning News that found actor Matthew McConaughey leading a hypothetical race between current Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O’Rourke.
Actor Matthew McConaughey has repeatedly raised eyebrows over the past year surrounding proclamations he’s made about civility, kindness, running for Texas governor, COVID-19, and more.
A shocking new poll adds another reason for McConaughey to turn heads, as the results of a hypothetical head-to-head race found the actor topping current Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) by 8% points.
The survey, conducted by the University of Texas and the Dallas Morning News, found 43% of respondents opting for the Hollywood A-lister, with 35% choosing Abbott.
Meanwhile, an additional 22% indicated they would opt for “someone else.”
And that’s not the only candidate McConaughey outperformed. Respondents were also asked, “Would you be likely to support Matthew McConaughey more than Beto O’Rourke?” McConaughey won this matchup by an even bigger margin, capturing 49% of respondents, with O’Rourke clocking in at just 27%.
McConaughey isn’t sure if he’s running for Texas governor, but that doesn’t mean a sizable portion of the public isn’t interesting in seeing him opt to do so. In fact, the survey found 40% of respondents do want to see the actor run, with 33% rejecting such a notion and 27% remaining apathetic to his prospective candidacy.
The actor has said he would only run for governor if he would be “useful” in the role.
“I could arguably have more influence as an informal leader than a formal leader,” McConaughey told Kara Swisher on The New York Times’ “Sway” podcast.
As Faithwire previously reported, the actor sparked some headline-grabbing moments of late. Last year, he levied extensive criticism for what he described as elite leftists who routinely “condescend, patronize, and are arrogant towards” working-class Trump supporters.
“On the far left, there is a lot on that illiberal left that absolutely condescend, patronize, and are arrogant towards that other 50%,” the actor said on Russell Brand’s “Under the Skin” podcast. “Many people in our industry, when Trump was voted in four years ago, were in denial that it was real. Well now you’ve got the right that’s in denial, they’re saying it’s fake news – and I understand, they’ve been fed fake news! No one knows who the [expletive] to believe, right? So they’re putting down their last bastion of defense.”
You can see more of McConaughey’s comments here.
Then, just a few months later, he spearheaded a benefit for Texans deeply impacted by damage stemming from frigid winter weather. And he wasn’t done there, as the actor again made headlines around Independence Day when he celebrated America with a powerful video message.
Most recently, comments McConaughey made about not mandating vaccines for young kids went viral.
It will be interesting to see what happens if the actor runs for governor, though these current statistics could certainly give candidates on both sides of the aisle some cause for alarm.
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