Matthew McConaughey won't rule out political run in Texas: 'I'm measuring it'

Matthew McConaughey says he's still "measuring" a potential political run in his home state of Texas.

The Dallas Buyers Club actor, 51, made his latest comments on the Set It Straight: Myths and Legends podcast — and it's clear he hasn't ruled out anything.

"I’m measuring it," McConaughey said after being enthusiastically urged by the band members of Midland, who host the show, to run for governor in 2022. "Look, it’s going to be in some capacity. I just, I’m more a folk singing-philosopher-poet statesman than I am a, per se, definitive politician. So I go: Well, that’s a reason not to. But then I go: No, that’s exactly why you should — because politics needs redefinition. But I’m measuring: What is my category? What’s my embassy?"

The star — who resides in Austin with wife Camila Alves, their three children and his mom, Kay — said if he did get into politics, it would be with his own flair.

"I have to remain a storyteller," the Academy Award winner explained. "I've been given that gift. I love doing it. I have to remain an artist. I’ve earned my right to enjoy that Saturday night part of life, that music part of life. It has to have music to it. I’m very good at being diligent, Monday morning, practical, structure, I’m all of that. But I gotta continue to be an artist."

He continued, "Now if that’s the category to be able to do that in, which would be different than some people have done it up to now, maybe it's for me. But maybe it’s also in a whole new category that I just create and we’ll see."

The hosts said a politician really should be "is a storyteller of the future," a term McConaughey liked. They called McConaughey a leader and said he'd inspire people — and make them laugh. Though they admitted they didn't know his politics — as he's not aligned with a certain party — or how he'd do getting bills passed or in a filibuster.

McConaughey, having just talked his way through the nearly hour-long podcast, quipped, "I can fill a filibuster!"

McConaughey has said now several times that he's consideringa run for Texas governor — and Texans appear to like his style. Poll data released this week, collected by Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler, showed McConaughey was leading Governor Greg Abbott, 44 percent to 35 percent.

What pollsters like most about McConaughey, they said, is "his honesty and ability" to "tell it like it is." They also like his "values."

Meanwhile, Beto O'Rourke is also reportedly getting ready to enter the 2022 race, but the same poll showed him behind Abbott — with 37 percent to the governor's 42 percent in a hypothetical election day face-off.

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