[2] Dowling began his political career in 2016, when he defeated Tim Mahoney, a five-term Democratic incumbent, in the general election for the 51st District seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
[2] In 2020, incumbent President Donald Trump lost Pennsylvania and was defeated in his bid for reelection.
[5] Dowling was one of many Republican members of the Pennsylvania Legislature who signed a January 4, 2021 letter to Pennsylvania's congressional delegation asking them to seek a halt to the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count (and thus the formalization of the victory of Joe Biden).
The charges followed his arrest in South Union Township after he rear-ended another vehicle twice at a red light at a busy intersection.
"[9][11] On July 1, 2022, three weeks after the crash, Dowling ended his bid for reelection in 2022, removing his name from the ballot.
The editorial was titled: "Fayette County legislator Matt Dowling is making good things out of a bad decision."
“Using my network of political figures and community leaders from across the commonwealth I hope to provide local listeners with conversations with statewide newsmakers.” Dowling’s first Episode featured Jeff Coleman, a retired legislator, political consultant, and recent Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor alongside Charles Pascal a progressive attorney and member of the Democratic State Committee.