Matthew Dowd

Matthew John Dowd (born May 29, 1961) 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

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. His parents were Republicans. Dowd attended Cardinal Newman College in St. Louis, Missouri. Dowd attributes his early interest in politics to the Watergate Committee hearings during the summer of 1973 when he was 12 years old.

Political career

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) He also worked on the staff of Rep. Dick Gephardt, (D-MO). He began his political career as a Democrat, as a member of Senator Lloyd Bentsen's, (D-TX), Senate and campaign staffs. He also worked for, among others, Texas Lt. Governor Bob Bullock. In 1999, he switched parties to become a Republican.

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. During the 2004 presidential election, Dowd was chief strategist for George W. Bush's re-election campaign. 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". Dowd was the strategist for Arnold Schwarzenegger during his 2006 reelection campaign.