The actor stacked favorably against incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott in terms of winnability ... this according to a new poll conducted by The Dallas Morning News and The University of Texas Tyler, which found McConaughey raked in 45% of the people who were asked.

The team talked to 1,126 registered Texan voters -- slightly more Republican than Dems -- and when asked if they'd be more likely to support MMC over Abbott ... nearly half said they WOULD, while 33% said they'd back GA -- and 22% said they'd vote for someone else.

That's pretty incredible ... especially considering Matt's openly mused about the possibility of running, and even recently said "it would be up to the people" on whether he'd run or not.

As for what political party platform he'd potentially run on ... it's unclear. Matt hasn't said one way or another if he's registered to either the GOP or the Dems, and his views on issues are pretty nuanced -- but as for where he lands on its face, probably more centrist than anything.

McConaughey has said that the "left" of this country often goes too far in their approach to things -- especially when it comes to finding common ground with conservatives and being cordial.

Then again, he's made clear that those on the far-right can be just as extreme ... and has written off a lot of their beliefs as well. So, seems he's right down the middle somewhere.