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Matthew McConaughey says he's not running for governor of Texas after all

Though polls suggested he was going to show current Republican Gov. Greg Abbott how to lose an election in 10 days, Matthew McConaughey left his potential voters dazed and confused when he announced that it was a time to kill his political aspirations.

Flanked by American flags and espousing the rhetoric of a politician, the Oscar-winner nevertheless took to Instagram to explain his decision.

"As a simple kid born in the little town of Uvalde, Tex., it never occurred to me that I would one day be considered for political leadership," McConaughey says. "It's a humbling and inspiring path to ponder. It is also a path that I'm choosing not to take at this moment."

Instead, the actor continues, he'll invest his "bounty" into supporting "entrepreneurs, businesses and foundations that I believe are leaders, establishments that I believe are creating pathways for people to succeed in life, organizations that have a mission to serve and build trust while also generating prosperity."

McConaughey also doesn't express a lot of faith in our current politicians, noting that the "good ones" can "help us get to where we need to go, yeah, but let's be clear: They can't do anything for us unless we choose to do for ourselves."

A recent poll from the Dallas Morning News had McConaughey 9 points ahead of Abbott in a hypothetical matchup, with Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke 5 points behind the incumbent.

Sadly, at least for Texans who liked the idea of turning Abbott into a ghost of governor's past, McConaughey's failure to launch a campaign means he'll be ineligible to join the esteemed actor-turned-governor club, rebuffing the pioneering efforts of Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Then again, both Reagan and Schwarzenegger ran California and the last thing Texas wants is to be anything like the Golden State. So it's up to Beto now to see if he can harness some of McConaughey's magic...mike.

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