Considering that the current President of the United States is a former reality TV host, it's clear that celebrity is, at the very least, not a hindrance to political success. Beyond Mr. Trump, we've seen actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger and even former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura become governors of states. So, consider if you will, Texas Governor Matthew McConaughey. Dare we believe such a thing is possible.
The idea of Matthew McConaughey getting involved in politics is not a new idea, but would the actor really consider a run for office, specifically, as governor of Texas? While recently speaking with radio personality Hugh Hewitt, mostly about his new memoir, McConaughey was asked about running and, while he certainly didn't indicate he's looking into the idea seriously right now, he also didn't completely discount it either. The actor stated...
I don’t know. I mean, that wouldn’t be up to me. It would be up to the people more than it would me. I would say this. Look, politics seems to be a broken business to me right now. And when politics redefines its purpose, I could be a hell of a lot more interested.
Matthew McConaughey isn't exactly the first person to decry the current state of American politics. He calls the system "broken" and thus, he has little interest in getting involved in it. Having said that, he also makes it clear that, were the system different, he would be more interested. So the idea has appeal to him. Of course, thus far, it doesn't appear that our political system is going to be any less broken in the short term, so how likely this is of ever happening is difficult to gauge.
Name recognition is certainly important when it comes to running for office, and so, Matthew McConaughey would certainly have that much going for him if and when he ever decided to run for office. Whether that would be enough is tough to guess. Hugh Hewitt refers to the actor as "center-right" politically speaking, and the actor doesn't contradict him. Traditionally, Texas has been a "red state" but there have been some apparent inroads made from the left in recent years, so perhaps a center-right candidate is exactly the type who could be the governor one day. So, maybe?
Names from Oprah Winfrey to Dwayne Johnson have been mentioned as potential political candidates over the years and while the connection between celebrity and politics continues to increase, expect to hear even more about it. Most will probably come to nothing, but not all of them will. And so we probably will see more celebrities getting into politics and finding success, so perhaps Governor McConaughey isn't that crazy an idea after all. He's not doing anything else right now.
