AUSTIN, Texas — **EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from Nov. 2020.
A YouTuber and internet personality appears to have just thrown his hat in the ring to run as a Republican for Governor of Texas.
Chad Prather recently debuted a new website Prather2022.com which points to him running against Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022.
On his Facebook page, Prather describes himself as "a commentator and humorist with a common sense perspective on American politics and world events." His website dubs him the "modern day Will Rogers."
"Prather believes the great state of Texas should be a leader in the US and number one across all categories," his campaign website states. "Unfortunately Texas is no longer the Texas that most Texans think it is. He believes that trend must change by putting Texas FIRST!"
WHERE HE STANDS
According to his website, here's where Prather stands on current political issues:
Farming and Ranching
- Improve the state’s infrastructure to lower the basis for grain products.
- Provide greater livestock disaster assistance and critical safety nets for producers.
- Improve livestock disease management practices.
- Provide interest deductibility, immediate expensing, and lower rates for farmers and ranchers as part of a historic tax cut.
- Create initiatives that give more young people the opportunity to thrive as farmers and ranchers in Texas.
- Encouraging strong support of 4-H and FFA programs;
- Increase shared-learning opportunities among universities, technical programs, and high schools for Ag education and skills training.
- Prioritize value-added agriculture, thoroughly vetting new processing, agricultural biotechnology, and manufacturing opportunities and offer upward mobility.
- Work to transition the state fleet to higher ethanol blends, such as E-30.
Right to Life
"I would encourage and sign pro-life legislation that reaches the Governor's desk," his website states.
Texas Rights
- Defend the right to life by signing pro-life legislation into law.
- Work to make Texas a constitutional carry state.
- Stand up for law-abiding Texans by defending their Second Amendment rights.
- Defend First Amendment speech rights against those in academia, media and politics who seek to silence conservatives.
Energy
- Prather opposes all efforts to classify carbon dioxide as a pollutant.
- Prather opposes environmentalism that obstructs legitimate business interests and private property use
- Prather supports free-market solutions and immediate removal of government barriers and direct subsidies to the production, reformulation, refining, and distribution of energy
Immigration
- Prather supports funding and construction for a completed Texas border wall.
- Prather offers full support for border patrol and ICE agents and agencies.
- Ensure a legal workforce and higher wages for Texans.
- Do not allow sanctuary cities in Texas.
Education
- Reject Common Core and federal overreach.
- Robustly reward performance driven teachers and celebrate their
successes - Work to expand civics, U.S. and Texas history programs and encourage schools to include the citizenship test as part of their
graduation criteria. - Provide career counseling and information regarding in-demand jobs beginning at the middle-school level.
Economy
- Maintain Texas’ no state income tax legacy.
- Reduce property taxes as fast as possible.
- Improve job creation from within the state. We don’t need California empires relocating to Texas.
- Veto efforts to increase involuntary taxes.
- Cut unnecessary regulations on business.
- Make it easier to start and run a small business in Texas.
- Increase education opportunities that produce job-holders not degree-holders.
- Review state licensing requirements that hinder skilled individuals from actually doing their jobs.
- Invest in Texas businesses that are ALREADY here.
- Open Texas for business. Eliminate mandates that stop people from making money.
Un-mandate
- Texas officials should never again presume they know better how to treat or prioritize the medical treatment of Texans and to make command and control edicts that dictate to healthcare providers how to do their job.
- I oppose funding or implementation of any form of contact tracing.
- I promote medical freedom.
- End exemptions that ask the state’s permission for child vaccinations.
- End inept COVID-19 mandates and mask requirements.
A recent Dallas Morning News - University of Texas at Tyler poll revealed Academy Award-winner Matthew McConaughey had a lead on Gov. Abbott among registered Texas voters.
RELATED: Matthew McConaughey ahead of Greg Abbott for Texas governor in UT Tyler - Dallas Morning News poll
In a March 2021 interview with the Balanced Voice podcast, McConaughey said a run at the governor's office was a "true consideration" for 2022.
The April survey by the DMN and UT Tyler is the second poll that has studied the views of Texas voters during the 2021 legislative session. The survey also included 1,126 registered voters to provide insights about the general election.
Those surveyed were asked the following question, among many others:
Matthew McConaughey has been talked about as a potential candidate for Governor of Texas. If he ran, would you be likely to support him more than Governor Abbott?
According to the poll, 45% of registered Texas voters said they would vote for McConaughey (66% Democrats, 44% Independents, 30% Republicans), 33% said they'd vote for Gov. Abbott (8% Democrats, 28% Independents, 56% Republicans) and 22% said they'd vote for someone else (26% Democrats, 28% Independents, 15% Republicans).
In an interview with CBS19's newspaper partner, the Longview News-Journal, McConaughey explained his philosophy on the current state of politics in America.
"I’ve said this analogy a few time before, but someone told me, 'There ain’t nothing in the middle but dead armadillos and yellow lines.' I said, 'Well, I’m walking right down the yellow lines, right in the middle of the highway right now," said McConaughey. "And the armadillos are free having a great time, because right now, both sides are so far to the right or the left, there aren’t even tires on the pavement.' So I think, going in, to think Democrat or Republican or one of the other, is small thinking now and even becoming unconstitutional because you’re supposed to serve the American people or the people of your state."
Republican and Air Force veteran Kurt Schwab also announced his candidacy for governor back in March.
“After spending my life in the Air Force fighting for our country, I want to continue to do so for our state," Schwab said in a statement. "I was right there with you when we lost power and I fought Abbott's unconstitutional mask mandate throughout 2020. Our rights come from our Creator, not the government, and we must preserve the rights secured by our forefathers. It’s time to bring Texas back to its core values. Above all else, we must secure our border and protect our Second Amendment rights. The fight will always be there but it seems our state government is not. I ask that you please join me and help in this fight to make Texas great again!”