Matthew Dowd

In 2006, he was the chief strategist for the re-election of then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R). ¹ Dowd had a falling out with Republicans and became a critic of the Bush administration in 2007 over the war in Iraq and other matters.  ⁴

Following his break with the Republicans, Dowd became a political commentator. In 2025, MSNBNC let Dowd go after he made intemperate comments after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. ⁵

Personal Life

Matthew Dowd was one of 11 children growing up in Detroit, Michigan. Though he grew up in a conservative family, while a student at Cardinal Newman College in St. Louis, Missouri, Dowd became a Democrat.  ⁴

Dowd has been divorced twice. He has an 18-acre ranch near Austin, Texas. ⁴

Political Consulting

Democratic Politics

While at Cardinal Newman College in St. Louis, Missouri, Matthew Dowd worked for then-Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-MO). ¹

Due to his relatively moderate views, Dowd sought work for the Texas Democratic Party, with which he went on to spend 25 years.  ^{4  2}

Dowd worked for former U.S. Rep. J.J. “Jake” Pickle (D-TX).  ⁶ He also worked for the Senate staff and campaign staff of former U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX).  ¹ Dowd was on the campaign team in the 1990s that helped then-Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock (D) get elected and re-elected.  ¹

Republican Politics

While Dowd was working on the campaigns of then-Lieutenant Governor Bullock, he got along well with Republican then-Gov. George W. Bush. Bullock even crossed party lines to endorse Bush for re-election as governor in 1998. ⁴

Dowd was impressed by Bush’s ability to govern in Austin and work with Democratic lawmakers and has said that he believed Bush would make Washington, D.C. less polarized. ⁷ He joined Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign as senior strategist.  ¹

He would become chief strategist for then-President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign. ¹

In 2006, he was the chief strategist for the re-election of California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.  ¹

Break with Bush

Dowd first expressed frustration with the Bush administration during a 2006 forum at the University of California, Berkeley.  ⁴

In March 2007, Dowd wrote that then-President Bush had undercut his “gut-level bond with the American public.” Later, he made a stronger break with Bush during an interview with the New York Times.  ⁴

He said, “If the American public says they’re done with something, our leaders have to understand what they want. They’re saying, ‘Get out of Iraq.’” He objected to Bush’s nomination of John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations, and said that Bush should have fired then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld after the scandal about the treatment of terror suspects at the Abu Ghraib detention facility. ⁸

Dowd also objected to the Bush White House’s opposition to same-sex marriage, asking why the federal government should be involved.  ⁴

Business and Punditry

Matthew Dowd founded or co-founded three companies: Paradox Capital, a social impact venture fund focused on for-profit social good companies; Vianovo, an international communications and branding firm; and Public Strategies, an international public affairs firm. He sold all of them. ^{9  1}

Dowd previously was a special correspondent and analyst for ABC News, and a senior political analyst for MSNBC.  ^{9  10}

He is the author of Revelations on the River: Healing a Nation, Healing Ourselves and the co-author of Applebee’s America: How Successful Political, Business, and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community.  ^{2  1}

He founded Country Over Party, a forum to convene voters and candidates.  ²

Dowd previously advised singer Bono at the ONE Campaign, advised the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and advised the National Basketball Association (NBA).  ²

Dowd gave advice to President Barack Obama after Republicans recaptured the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterms. ²

Dowd has taught at the University of Texas’ Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He also led seminars at Stanford University, Harvard University, and Yale University.  ¹

Texas Lieutenant Governor Campaign

In September 2021, Matthew Dowd announced he would run as a Democrat for Texas lieutenant governor in 2022. He called incumbent Lt. Gov. Daniel Patrick (R) “cruel and craven.” Dowd said he was running as a “Bob Bullock, Ann Richards Democrat,” referring to the last Democratic lieutenant governor and governor in the state from the 1990s. ⁶

In December 2021, Dowd dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination, asserting that white Christian males should step aside for more women and people of color to run for public office. “I do not want to be the one who stands in the way of the greater diversity we need in politics,” he said. His announcement came after a Dallas Morning News poll showed he was trailing his nearest Democratic primary opponent by 15 points and was also trailing badly in fundraising. ¹¹

Kirk Comments and MSNBC Dismissal

In 2025, Matthew Dowd was working as a senior political analyst on MSNBC. Shortly after the shooting of conservative activist and commentator Charlie Kirk, Dowd characterized Kirk as “one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.” He continued, “I think that’s the environment we’re in, that the people just — you can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have, and then saying these awful words, and not expect awful actions to take place. And that’s the unfortunate environment we’re in.” ¹⁰

After Dowd’s comment, MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler said in a statement: “During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.” MSNBC subsequently let Dowd go.  ¹⁰

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Comcast president Mike Cavanagh, and CEO of Versant (the spinoff company that was scheduled to take over MSNBC) Mark Lazarus sent a memo to employees that did not use Dowd’s name, but referred to a dismissal for comments that were “at odds with fostering civil dialogue and being willing to listen to the points of view of those who have differing opinions.” It added: “We should be able to disagree, robustly and passionately, but, ultimately with respect. We need to do better.”  ¹²

Dowd said he told MSNBC supervisors he did not mean that Kirk provoked his own murder. He said he told them, “You know it’s been misconstrued.” He added, “They agreed it had been misconstrued. But they said it didn’t matter. The decision’s been made.”  ⁵

Dowd blamed his firing from MSNBC on critics, saying, “The right wing media mob ginned up, went after me on a plethora of platforms, and MSNBC reacted to that mob.”  ¹²