Matthew Dowd

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Matthew Dowd
Dowd at South by Southwest in 2017
Born
Matthew John Dowd

(1961-05-29) May 29, 1961 (age 64)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic (before 1999, 2021–present)
Independent (2008–2021)
Republican (1999–2007)[1]
Spouse(s)Tammy L. Edgerly (divorced)[2]
Nikki (divorced)[3]
Children5

Matthew John Dowd (born May 29, 1961)[4] is an American political pundit and consultant. He is the former chief strategist for the Bush–Cheney 2004 presidential campaign and a former political analyst with ABC News and MSNBC.

Early life

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Dowd was born in Detroit, Michigan, to an Irish Catholic family. He grew up the third of 11 children; his father was an auto executive and his mother was an elementary school teacher before becoming a homemaker.[5] His parents were Republicans.[3] Dowd attended Cardinal Newman College in St. Louis, Missouri.[5] Dowd attributes his early interest in politics to the Watergate Committee hearings during the summer of 1973 when he was 12 years old.[1]

Political career

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Dowd volunteered for the campaign of Rep William Broomfield (R-MI) and, while attending college in St. Louis, Missouri, for the campaign of Governor Joseph P. Teasdale (D-MO)[1] He also worked on the staff of Rep. Dick Gephardt, (D-MO).[6] He began his political career as a Democrat, as a member of Senator Lloyd Bentsen's, (D-TX), Senate and campaign staffs.[6] He also worked for, among others, Texas Lt. Governor Bob Bullock. In 1999, he switched parties to become a Republican.[7]

During the 2002 midterm elections, Dowd was a senior adviser to the Republican National Committee. He was in charge of polling for the party committee and the White House.[8] During the 2004 presidential election, Dowd was chief strategist for George W. Bush's re-election campaign.[7] In 2024, Dowd, having rejoined the Democratic Party, stated that the allegations made by Swift Vets and POWs for Truth during the election were disproven and "nearly all lies".[9] Dowd was the strategist for Arnold Schwarzenegger during his 2006 reelection campaign.[citation needed]

As reported in The New York Times on April 1, 2007, Dowd had come to feel a deep frustration with and great disappointment in George W. Bush, whom he criticized for failing to call the nation together in a time of war, for ignoring the will of the American public regarding the Iraq War, for his re-nomination of former UN ambassador John Bolton after his rejected confirmation and for failing to hold Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld accountable for the Abu Ghraib scandal.[10] According to Democracy Now!, Dowd claims to have undergone a change of heart regarding the Iraq War, and adopted a position advocating a withdrawal from that country, after contemplating the likelihood of his own son's deployment to the country, as well as after seeing Bush refuse to meet with anti-war-mother Cindy Sheehan in summer 2005, while he was entertaining Lance Armstrong at his ranch in Crawford, Texas; President Bush had previously met with Sheehan in June 2004.[11] Dowd cited these incidents, as well as Bush's handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, as reasons for this change.[12][13] Upon leaving the Bush administration, Dowd has not been on speaking terms with former White House political adviser Karl Rove.[14] Sidney Blumenthal, in an opinion piece in Salon, titled "Matthew Dowd's not-so-miraculous conversion", described Dowd as an "opportunist".[15]

Campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Texas

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In September 2021, Dowd announced his campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Texas as a Democrat.[16] In October 2021, the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, Democrat Lieutenant Governor Primary vote choice poll had Matthew Dowd with 13% of the primary vote.[17] In early December, Dowd announced he was ending his bid for the post, citing a desire for more diversity in the race.[18][19]

Media career

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In December 2007, he was introduced on ABC's Good Morning America as its new political contributor. He also appeared on the same network's This Week with George Stephanopoulos.[citation needed] Dowd was a founding partner of Vianovo, a strategy consultancy, which he left in 2015.[20] He has taught at the University of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.[6] As of 2015, he is also a visiting Fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.[1] He is co-author of The New York Times bestseller Applebee's America: How Successful Political, Business and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community. His book A New Way: Embracing the Paradox as We Lead and Serve was released in 2017.[21]

On September 10, 2025, commenting on the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Dowd said on-air, "He's been 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. And I think that is the environment we are in. 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 are in."[22] Dowd also speculated that the shooter may have been a supporter, stating: "We don't know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration. So we have no idea about this."[22] Later that day, MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler denounced Dowd's comments, saying, "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."[23][24] That evening, Dowd was fired from MSNBC.[25]

Personal life

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Dowd has married and divorced twice. He has three sons from his first marriage. His second marriage ended in divorce after one of his twin infant daughters died in the hospital.[5] His eldest son, Daniel, is an Army veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and was deployed to Baghdad from 2007 to 2009 as a signals intelligence specialist.[5][26]

Dowd has criticized former President Trump's Twitter use as being dangerous, impulsive, and counterproductive. Dowd was especially upset with tweets aimed at the leader of North Korea.[27] During the first impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump in 2019, Dowd tweeted about a congresswoman, "Elise Stefanik is a perfect example of why just electing someone because they are a woman or a millennial doesn't necessarily get you the leaders we need." Congresswoman Stefanik called the tweet "disgusting, sexist, and shameful". After significant pressure, Dowd apologized and removed the tweet in question.[28]

Bibliography

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  • Applebee's America: How Successful Political, Business, and Religious Leaders Connect With the New American Community (2006) ISBN 9780743287197
  • A New Way: Embracing the Paradox as We Lead and Serve (2017) ISBN 9781544500324

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "The Axe Files Ep. 2 - Matthew Dowd". October 5, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  2. ^ "The Marriage of Matthew Dowd and Tammy Edgerly". Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Bumiller, Elisabeth (August 30, 2004). "The Repubilicans: The Convention in New York -- The Strategist; A Bush Backer Mixes Caution With Confidence". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  4. ^ "Matthew Dowd". University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service Speaker Series. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d Barabak, Mark Z. (November 14, 2007). "A Bush strategist blazes his own trail". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "Matthew Dowd". ABC. January 4, 2008. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  7. ^ a b NPR: Matthew Dowd, "Turning Sour on Bush" NPR; December 31, 2008
  8. ^ Cook, Charles E., Jr. (Autumn 2002). "Down the Stretch to November" (PDF). Washington Quarterly. 25 (4). The Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 205. doi:10.1162/016366002760252644. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. Republican National Committee (RNC) senior adviser, Matthew Dowd, who coordinates polling for the RNC and the White House, accurately predicted in March that the president's approval ratings would "drift lower" from their unsustainably high, post-9/ 11 levels and would "settle" in the low 60s.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Dowd, Matthew (August 8, 2024). "Post by Matthew Dowd". X.
  10. ^ Baker, Peter, A President Besieged and Isolated, Yet at Ease. Washington Post, July 2, 2007; Page A01
  11. ^ Dorell, Oren (August 7, 2005). "Soldier's mother keeps protest vigil at Bush ranch". USA Today. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  12. ^ "Key Bush Insider Speaks Out, Calls for Iraq Withdrawal". Democracy Now!. April 2, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  13. ^ Rutenberg, Jim. "Ex-Aide Says He's Lost Faith in Bush" The New York Times, April 1, 2007
  14. ^ Rutenberg, Jim (August 19, 2007). "Rove says it's Dems who are divisive / Outgoing Bush aide rejects blame from critics on both sides". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  15. ^ Blumenthal, Sidney, Matthew Dowd's not-so-miraculous conversion", Salon, April 5, 2007.
  16. ^ "Matthew Dowd, former George W. Bush strategist, to run as Democrat for Texas lieutenant governor". The Texas Tribune. September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  17. ^ "2022 Democratic Lieutenant Governor Primary Vote Choice (October 2021)". November 5, 2021.
  18. ^ "Matthew Dowd ends his campaign for Texas lieutenant governor". The Dallas Morning News. December 7, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  19. ^ "Democrat Matthew Dowd ends campaign for Texas lieutenant governor, citing need for "greater diversity"". The Texas Tribune. December 7, 2021.
  20. ^ Allen, Mike (January 30, 2015). "PLOUFFE STEERS KINDER, GENTLER UBER – JON MEACHAM to edit MARK SHRIVER book on Pope -- MATT DOWD leaves Vianovo -- MATT MILLER has a boy -- B'DAY: Dick Cheney, Hillman, Mike Sommers, Chris Jansing". Politico. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  21. ^ Wertheimer, Linda (October 18, 2006). "Connecting with Gut Values in 'Applebee's America' (includes book excerpt)". Morning Edition. NPR. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  22. ^ a b Gedeon, Joseph (September 11, 2025). "MSNBC fires analyst Matthew Dowd over Charlie Kirk shooting remarks". The Guardian. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  23. ^ Lindsay, Benjamin; Lincoln, Ross A. (September 10, 2025). "MSNBC Denounces Analyst Matthew Dowd for Saying Charlie Kirk's 'Hateful Words' Led to His Assassination". TheWrap. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  24. ^ Aitken, Peter (September 10, 2025). "MSNBC fires Matthew Dowd after Charlie Kirk assassination comments". Newsweek. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  25. ^ Dunn, Jack (September 10, 2025). "Matthew Dowd Fired From MSNBC For Charlie Kirk Comments". Variety. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  26. ^ Kurtz, Howard (December 7, 2007). "ABC Nabs Latest Media Player From Bush Team, Matthew Dowd". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  27. ^ "How do Trump's Twitter taunts affect the Presidency". News Hour. PBS. June 29, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  28. ^ Chapman, Cara, "Dowd tweet disgusting, sexist, Stefanik says", The Adirondack Daily Enterprise (New York), November 15, 2019.
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