Matthew McConaughey leads Texas governor’s race

According to a new poll, Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey is outpolling the sitting Texas Governor Greg Abott with a rather comfortable lead.

The state’s elections are more than a year away, but the “Dallas Buyers Club” star is enjoying rising media attention as a viable candidate.

The speculative poll, published by the University of Texas and Dallas Morning News, shows the actor comfortably crushing the incumbent governor Greg Abbott.

45% backed the Interstellar actor while only 22 per cent said they would vote for neither McConaughey nor Abott.

One third of the voters supported sitting governor Abbott.

In a recent podcast, McConaughey said,  "I'm looking into now, what is my leadership role, because I do think I have some things to teach and share, and what is my role, what is my category in my next chapter of life that I'm going into now?" 

As for the Texas governor’s race, he said, "I hear you. It's a true consideration."

McConaughey has described himself as "aggressively centric” and is likely to run as an independent.

The poll further reported that 70 per cent of Democrats will back McConaughey whereas only 29 per cent of Republicans will support him in a race against Abott.

Politics and entertainment in America have been inseparable for quite some time. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a major Hollywood star, has previously served as the Governor of California. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump both enjoyed significant name recognition as celebrities before settling into the Oval office.