San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones took aim at Matthew McConaughey\u2019s push for independent candidates for the second time this week after the actor sat courtside at Friday night\u2019s Spurs game in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jones, a Democrat, posted a video<\/a> of McConaughey accepting a custom jersey from the Spurs Coyote at Friday\u2019s I-35 Series game against the Houston Rockets at the Moody Center in Austin.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can\u2019t afford courtside seats at a @spurs (or @austin_spurs) game, you can\u2019t afford to vote Independent,\u201d Jones wrote in the Instagram caption that encouraged voters to choose Democratic candidates.<\/p>\n McConaughey, who grew up in Uvalde, posted a video<\/a> Sunday urging independent voters to participate in the Texas midterms and to vote for independent candidates. He described independent candidates as \u201ca permanent check\u201d on power.<\/p>\n Jones first criticized McConaughey\u2019s video in a Tuesday Instagram post.<\/a> She called his push for independent candidates a \u201creckless privilege\u201d and argued Texas voters have an opportunity to hold Republicans accountable in November\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n \u201cRecommending Texans vote Independent in this election when we finally have the opportunity to vote out those who have enabled everything from the Uvalde massacre (ole Matt\u2019s hometown), Texas having the highest rate of uninsured adults and kids in the country, and Texas being ground zero for the Nation\u2019s most horrendous immigration enforcement actions, anti-reproductive healthcare laws, and voter suppression laws is the embodiment of reckless privilege,\u201d Jones wrote in her initial post.<\/p>\n The backlash comes as independent identification remains high among American voters. A January Gallup report<\/a> found that a record 45% of U.S. adults identified as independents in 2025, compared with 27% each who identified as Democrats or Republicans. However, many independents still lean toward one of the two major parties.<\/p>\n