Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is stepping back into the political arena as a crusader against partisan redistricting.
Urging Californians to “terminate gerrymandering,” the former governor and Hollywood icon has joined the likes of former GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), investor Charlie Munger and state GOP legislators in pushing back on the plan, which could net five Democratic House seats by temporarily bypassing the state’s independent redistricting commission.
Schwarzenegger has long been a champion of the commission, which voters approved during his tenure as governor. Political experts see him entering the spotlight to defend his legacy — even as current California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) stresses that the redistricting plan won’t undercut the existing system.
“Schwarzenegger was and is a Republican, but there are certain issues that separate him pretty dramatically from the party mainstream. One of those was his work on climate change legislation, but his reform legacy might be what makes him most proud,” said Dan Schnur, a former Republican strategist who’s currently a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and University of Southern California.
“He sees it as under threat.”
California Democrats, led by Newsom, are asking voters to approve a ballot measure via a special election this fall that would effectively circumvent the Golden State’s independent redistricting commission, allowing Legislature-approved lines to take effect mid-decade.
The plan could effectively nullify Republican-led redistricting in Texas, where the state Legislature last week approved new lines that could net five GOP House seats — after President Trump suggested the GOP is “entitled” to five more House seats.
Newsom sees the Texas moves as part of a broader Republican effort to rig next year’s midterms and has stressed that, if the plan is approved, the power to redistrict would eventually return to the independent commission, after the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections.
But Schwarzenegger has hit back against the efforts in both states.
“It is very wrong what they’re doing to Texas and it is very wrong what they’re trying to do in California. It is not at all serving the people. It is serving the party,” Schwarzenegger told the Houston Chronicle earlier this month.
During his two-term tenure as governor, he championed the 2008 and 2010 voter-approved initiatives that established and then expanded the independent redistricting commission.
In a mid-August interview, the Republican Hollywood heavyweight told The New York Times that he has a good relationship with Newsom and isn’t trying to support Trump, but rather that he wants to defend the system he helped build.
“It’s nothing personal,” he told the Times, as he pledged to fight for his “promise” of citizen-led redistricting.
California Republican strategist Mike Madrid, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, called Schwarzenegger’s effort part of his legacy.
“It’s definitely a legacy play for Schwarzenegger, but it also has the benefit of being something that he has long, long believed,” Madrid said.
“This was something he was talking about even before he was running for governor, as part of one of the intractable problems that was making California grind to a halt.”
That makes Schwarzenegger “uniquely positioned” to argue against Proposition 50, Madrid said, compared with other figures who appear to be weighing in from a more partisan perspective.
Exact details of how Schwarzenegger may fight back over the next nine weeks remain unclear, but he’s signaled readiness for “the gerrymandering battle.”
On his “Arnold’s Pump Club” site, he’s selling a “terminate gerrymandering” shirt, a nod to his blockbuster film. The proceeds are being split between the California and Texas branches of the League of Women Voters, a nonprofit opposing partisan redistricting — though the California leg has said it’s not taking a stance on Proposition 50.
He’s also backed an effort, Politico reported this week, from Munger, the mega-donor who helped fund the ballot measures that set up the commission initially.
In remarks at a Politico summit on Wednesday, Newsom stressed that he has long supported independent redistricting — and that the ballot measure itself supports the system, “except for a temporary period, just for congressional seats, to respond to this unprecedented assault.”
He also revealed he’s spoken to his predecessor about the push.
“I visited with Arnold on this. We debated this,” the governor said, shrugging off a suggestion that the pair publicly debate the issue.
“I completely respect his point of view and position. And by the way, I told him, I share it. I just told him … redistricting doesn’t exist anywhere in this country if this guy [Trump] wins and wires this. If you actually care about this issue, you’re going to stand up for this.”
Newsom also said he reminded Schwarzenegger that “we’re actually protecting his legacy by maintaining the independent redistricting and affirming it.”
The text of the amendment proposal acknowledges that it’s California policy “to support the use of fair, independent, and nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide” and calls on Congress to pass federal legislation for a U.S. constitutional amendment that requires the system nationwide.
Meanwhile, former Speaker and fundraising juggernaut McCarthy is also rallying support to “stop Newsom’s power grab.” And Trump, though he’s not involved with campaign efforts, has vowed lawsuits against California over the plans.
If Trump does get more involved, that could pose problems for the opposition — while Schwarzenegger’s tack is more likely to resonate with the overwhelmingly blue voter base in California.
“Leave it to someone like Schwarzenegger, and it’s going to have far more credibility. … Voters won’t see him as a partisan actor,” said California Democratic strategist Matt Rodriguez.
Both opposition camps — the more traditional Republicans and the reformers — want to beat Proposition 50, said Schnur.
“They’re running different strategies. They’re hoping that their efforts can ultimately become and ultimately complement each other. But there’s inevitably going to be points of friction in terms of message, in terms of strategy, and in terms of fundraising,” Schnur said.
With a short runway to a Nov. 4 special election, the California redistricting fight could quickly become one of the most expensive and contentious ballot measure campaigns in state history.
The effort has already drawn more than $13 million in support and $10 million in opposition, according to tallies from the California secretary of state, as of Friday. Munger has contributed the bulk of the opposition dollars, records show.
And campaigning isn’t the only avenue California Republicans are using to push back.
California GOP legislators have so far filed two petitions to try to halt the plan before the state Supreme Court. Both were rejected, but political experts expect this isn’t the end of legal challenges against the maps.
The top Republican in the California Assembly this week also proposed a “two-state solution,” suggesting the Golden State be split to isolate redder inland areas in response to redistricting. Though it isn’t seen as a viable proposal in the Democratic supermajority-controlled Legislature, it highlights the intensity of Republican pushback.
At the same time, Democrats are revving up to make the fight a referendum on Trump.
“You have galactic, spatial egos, from President Trump to Charlie Munger to Arnold Schwarzenegger to Kevin McCarthy. It’s going to be real hard to hold that together in a short period of time, but what it does tell us is it will be the biggest status game in politics this fall,” said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University who has worked on books about ballot measures.
