Matthew McConaughey leaves the field following a game at the Cotton Bowl on October 10, 2026 in Dallas, Texas.
Stacy Revere/Getty Images
This election season, scores of Texas celebrities have urged their fellow countrymen to get out and vote. Most of the ones you’ve heard of have endorsed James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. But here comes Matthew McConaughey, perhaps the most Texan of all famous people, with something a little different to say.
On Sunday, McConaughey posted a six-minute video on X titled “Independent counts.” In a front-facing video that makes it look like he’s being held hostage inside of a sauna, McConaughey pitches Americans on voting not for a party, but for ideas.
Article continues below this ad
“So they’ve been telling us for years that an independent vote is a wasted vote,” McConaughey says. “Well, a great question for our times is: How’s that unwasted vote been working out for you?”
It’s not clear what exactly McConaughey counts as an “independent” vote. Is he talking about the common refrain that voting third party is “wasting” a vote? Independence in the sense of ticket-splitting, where you vote for candidates from a bunch of parties on the same ballot? But before he gets into his spiel, Mr. Alright Alright Alright has to let us know that this video is not about him.
Independent counts. https://t.co/N9MkKlBuIR
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) October 18, 2026
“This is about the upcoming ballot, and I am not here today to endorse a candidate or a party,” McConaughey says. “I am here endorsing two things: fairness and reality.”
He says that the current two-party system isn’t fair, because fairness “is not just two fighters throwing the same punches at each other for 50 years.” Then, he goes on to finally define what he means by “independent.”
Article continues below this ad
“Independent does not mean you’re middle of the road. Independent is the original road. Before there was ever a Republican or a Democrat, there was an American,” McConaughey says.
To McConaughey, a “true independent” isn’t a “fence sitter” but someone who takes the best ideas from both Republicans and Democrats. What ideas or policies? Oh, you know, the ones.
McConaughey claims that he needs to talk about this in a six-minute video because “the system has never been more lopsided.” That’s true enough; McConaughey points out that most U.S. House elections are uncompetitive by design, and that most elections are really decided in the primary. Something like 3 percent of primary voters decide elections in Texas. But there is no solution in McConaughey’s sub-fortune cookie wisdom. Consider this real word salad quote:
Article continues below this ad
“Think of the [Independents] as a toll booth between an idea and a law,” McConaughey intones. “Every bill coming from the left or the right has to stop at that booth and answer one question: ‘Does this make sense to the middle?’ The extreme stuff can’t, can’t pay the toll, and pretty soon both parties learned to write laws for where most of us actually live.”
How would this work in practice? McConaughey never explains except to plug former Senator Joe Manchin’s new “Independent Leadership Council,” a group meant to recruit “a handful” of independent candidates to run for Congress. McConaughey promises this is not an endorsement of Manchin’s new gig, but how can it not be? It’s the only proper noun in this video!
“I am not endorsing an organization. I’m reintroducing us all to the original organization,” McConaughey says.
McConaughey concludes by urging Texans to vote not for the candidates on a particular party line, but for those that they feel truly represent them. That’s a lot of words to say essentially “do your research and vote accordingly.”
Smart, funny and sometimes unhinged look at the week that was.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy.
Contrast this approach to McConaughey’s peers in the celebrity space. Willie Nelson, The Chicks, Kacey Musgraves and most of the cast of Friday Night Lights, as well as a slew of other celebs, have mobilized for Talarico and other Texas Democrats. They’ve offered wholehearted endorsements rooted in their Texanness, with the idea being “If you like me, you’ll know I have Texas’ best interests at heart.” What McConaughey offers is an appeal for himself and himself alone.
Article continues below this ad
It is past time for McConaughey to retire this cowboy philosopher schtick. It was amusing when he did those Lincoln commercials over a decade ago. But this “I’m-enlighted-and-above-it-all” thing is tiring. McConaughey wants to get involved in politics and talk about running for governor and hang out at the state legislature without ever saying what he stands for. He wants to be everything for everyone, and he ends up as nothing instead. For a guy who loves to tout his independence and free-thinking spirit, he couldn’t even muster any statement about the hilariously unpopular Big Bend border wall.
What was the point of putting this video out the day before early voting in Texas started? McConaughey offers little actual advice. He has nearly 3 million followers on X, and couldn’t be bothered to tell them how to find their polling location. It was ultimately an exercise in putting his face out there and getting people to wonder what his play is. I’ll tell you what the play is: Getting everyone to listen to and talk about Matthew McConaughey for a little while longer.