Schwarzenegger Enters CA Redistricting Fight, Says Prop 50 Shifts Power from Voters to Politicians

Arnold
Photo by IVN Editor Shawn Griffiths.
Published: 17 Sep, 2025
3 min read

Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is stepping back into California politics with a warning about Proposition 50. He urges voters to reject the November measure, which would pause the state’s independent, citizen-drawn congressional map and substitute a Legislature-written plan for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 cycles.

Speaking on the USC campus, Schwarzenegger said the proposal would undo a public, commission-led process he promoted as governor and replace it with districts shaped out of public view and approved by elected officials. He called the idea “insane,” and argued that copying hardball tactics to counter former President Donald Trump’s push in Texas would weaken democratic norms rather than protect them. 

“It doesn’t make any sense to me that because we have to fight Trump, we have to become Trump,” he said in his remarks at U.S.C.
“They are trying to fight for democracy by getting rid of the democratic principles of California,” he added.

Backers of Prop 50, including Governor Gavin Newsom, argue it is a temporary response to Republican moves in Texas and is intended to engineer a five-seat swing for Democrats in the California delegation. If voters approve it, Democrats could hold as many as 48 of the state’s 52 House seats next term, up from 43 today.

Schwarzenegger framed the fight as a test of whether California will keep power in the hands of voters or hand it back to the political class. 

“People power is the ultimate power – that’s what democracy is all about. Not politician power – it’s people power.”

He has already previewed his opposition. Last month, he posted a weight room photo on X in a shirt that read Terminate Gerrymandering, with a partially obscured expletive directed at the politicians. He wrote that he was preparing for a fight over gerrymandering. 

It is not yet clear how directly he will engage in the campaign, but his name recognition and resources could matter. “I do not think you want to run against Arnold Schwarzenegger,” said Bill Whalen of the Hoover Institution.

Newsom has cast the contest as a direct showdown with Trump as Republicans try to protect a narrow House majority. “We cannot stand back and watch this democracy disappear district by district all across the country,” he said at a Los Angeles rally. “Donald Trump, you have poked the bear, and we will punch back.”

IVP Donate

California and Texas, the two most populous states, have become the central fronts in the broader struggle over House control that now stretches into other states and the courts. For reform-minded voters, the choice in California is clear. Either defend the independent model the state voted for and built, or set it aside in the name of matching what is happening elsewhere. 

At the USC forum, described as a celebration of “Democracy Day,” Schwarzenegger was also asked by the University’s interim President, Beong-Soo Kim, for his thoughts about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

“I was very, very upset that someone’s life was taken because they have a different opinion,” the former governor said. “It’s just unbelievable.”

“I was thinking about his children. They will only be reading about him now.”

 

 

You Might Also Like

Gavin Newsom
Newsom Builds National Donor Base with Prop 50 While Gerrymandering War Escalates
The ongoing mid-decade redistricting battle between the Republican and Democratic Parties, which now literally spans from the west coast in California to the east coast in Virginia and North Carolina, may be the final nail in the coffin for an old saying in American politics: Specifically, “All politics is local.” ...
29 Oct, 2025
-
4 min read
LA homes.
The Corporate Takeover of California Homes Reaches 19%, and It's Accelerating
Should we be comfortable with the surge of hedge funds and real estate investment trusts buying up single-family homes and turning them into rentals? What happens to families who just want to buy one house and build a life there? The question is more than theoretical. It is reshaping the foundation of what was once called the American dream....
28 Oct, 2025
-
3 min read
Hillcrest
'Build, Baby, Build!' is NOT the Answer to Housing Crises
Can San Diego build its way out of its three-part housing crisis – supply, affordability and homelessness? Some of elected officials think so and are leading the charge. I have been in the real estate industry for 50-plus years, and I say they are on the wrong track....
27 Oct, 2025
-
4 min read
Partisan chess game.
The Gerrymandering Fight is About Democracy -- But Not for the Reasons You Think
The Texas GOP made two significant moves in the last few months to enhance their chances in the 2026 midterms. The first made national headlines and provoked a Democratic Party response. The second has flown under the radar....
20 Oct, 2025
-
4 min read
Isn't It Weird That Congress Feels No Urgency to Re-Open the Government?
Isn't It Weird That Congress Feels No Urgency to Re-Open the Government?
The U.S. has entered Day 22 of the latest government shutdown with no end in sight. As pundits expect it to surpass the 35-day record set during Trump’s first term, a new Gallup poll shows voters’ approval of Congress has plummeted in the last month. Yet, for congressional leaders, there isn’t any urgency to re-open the government. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries trade jabs back and forth in the media, but the blame game continues to be prioritized over solutions....
22 Oct, 2025
-
5 min read
Proposition 50 voter guide
California Prop 50: Partisan Power Play or Necessary Counterpunch?
November 4 marks a special election for what has become the most controversial ballot measure in California in recent memory: Proposition 50, which would circumvent congressional districts drawn by the state’s independent redistricting commission for a legislative-drawn map....
01 Oct, 2025
-
9 min read