Ted Cruz and Matthew McConaughey: Texas politics, with a hint of Hollywood

Texas Senator and member of the Republican Party Ted Cruz, who is known for frequent controversial statements, said that actor Matthew McConaughey, who is expected to run for the position of Governor in the lone star state, should stick to acting.

While appearing on the Hugh Hewitt radio show earlier this week, Cruz spoke in support of current Texas Governor Greg Abbott while expressing his hope that McConaughey “decides not to run”.

“Yeah, no, I think he would undoubtedly be formidable”, said Cruz referring to McConaughey. He added, “I like Matthew personally. I know him a little bit, not well, but I’ve spent a little bit of time with him. And he’s a very charming, very affable guy”, reported Newsweek quoting the radio show’s conversation.

The 50-year-old Republican Senator said that Abbott has been a mentor to him through this political career and that the governor had been his boss for nearly 5 and a half years. 

Even though it remains unclear if McConaughey has set foot on either side of the political spectrum so far. The 51-year-actor, who is known for his roles in movies like Interstellar and Dallas Buyers Club, said that both Democrats and Republicans are so far apart from the middle, which he considers the safest place to be.

A poll, which was jointly conducted by the University of Texas and Dallas Morning News in April, suggested that about 33% of Texans backed the sitting governor while McConaughey has support from 45% of the people.