For decades, and especially recently, Texas Democrats have sought to win statewide elections, but they continue picking the wrong people. Beto O’Rourke and Wendy Davis immediately come to mind, and now it’s Matthew Dowd’s turn as he launches a bid for Texas lieutenant governor.
The 60-year-old’s last gig was as an ABC political analyst, and though he served as the chief strategist for George W. Bush’s successful 2004 reelection campaign, he moved left shortly after and hard left about six years ago.
Dowd reacted to the arrival of Donald Trump on the scene not by condemning him, but, like Jen Rubin, by changing his political views on everything. Earlier this year, for example, he claimed the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was worse than the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
He’ll run as a proud Democrat and challenge outspoken Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who Dowd accused of waging a “culture war” in pushing for Texas’ abortion laws.
“The GOP politicians have failed us, especially the cruel and craven lieutenant governor,” Dowd said in a video announcing his candidacy. “Dan Patrick has been lying and deceiving, fracturing the bonds we share and endangering all our lives. He does not believe in the common good. He seeks only to represent himself and the 5 percent of the state that goes along with all of this.”
In the video, Dowd claims the Texas GOP has mishandled every issue, including COVID-19, gun laws, abortion, the electric grid situation last winter, and more.
He will face Mike Collier in the party’s primary. Collier ran an unsuccessful campaign against Patrick in 2018.
Despite media obfuscation, Dowd is a committed liberal. He worked for only Democrats in the 1980s and 1990s, including Gov. Ann Richards. Her daughter, the former long-time president of Planed Parenthood, immediately lauded his candidacy.
In 1990 @matthewjdowd worked with us to elect my mother Ann Richards Governor of Texas. He believes in public service and that government should serve people – and he’s running for Lt. Governor. This is great news for all Texans. ⭐️ https://t.co/fP0swK8VLR
— Cecile Richards (@CecileRichards) September 29, 2021
Twice divorced, Dowd may have helped break up Arnold Schwarzenegger’s marriage to Maria Shriver, too.
But it’s his Twitter rantings that are notoriously offensive, including his insults to grieving women.
six people died in this wreck, but keep making your jokes @matthewjdowd pic.twitter.com/rwEeOuvbyC
— Jessica O’Donnell (@heckyessica) February 12, 2021
Dowd’s been busy the last 36 hours deleting most of his tweets.
Matthew Dowd had 180,000 tweets in late May 2021.
Now he has less than 5,000 tweets.
What is he hiding? pic.twitter.com/ToNLumznbF
— Cameron Cawthorne (@Cam_Cawthorne) September 29, 2021
He also dabbles in bigotry, demanding a few years ago that “white male Christians” should “take it upon ourselves to step back and give more people who don’t look like us access to the levers of power.” So, considering that stance, why is he still running?
After writing this column, Matthew Dowd is… running for Lt. Governor of Texas. pic.twitter.com/Qx4JZxsC3s
— Jimmy (@JimmyPrinceton) September 29, 2021
It’s questionable how much time Dowd has even spent in the Lone Star State recently, but regardless, he may want to check the spelling of local cities before he uses them for political gain.
Related: Beto O’Rourke Preparing to Run for Texas Governor
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