TYLER, Texas — A new poll from the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler shows Longview High School alum Matthew McConaughey pulling ahead of Gov. Greg Abbott in a poll of likely voters for Texas Governor.
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 includes 1,126 registered voters to provide insights about the general election.
The Dallas Morning News/UT Tyler Poll reflects a statewide random sample of 1,126 registered voters during the eight days between April 6 and April 13. The mixed mode sample includes 290 registered voters who were surveyed over the phone by the Center for Opinion Research with support from ReconMR and 836 registered voters that were randomly selected from Dynata’s panel of registered voters that was stratified to match the demographics of Texas’s registered voter population. The online and phone surveys were conducted in English and Spanish.
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."
Those surveyed were also asked if they approved of the job President Joe Biden has done during his first months in office.
- 26% said they strongly approved
- 22% said they approved
- 12% said they neither approved or disapproved
- 15% said they disapproved
- 26% said they strongly disapproved
For the full poll results, click here.