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.”

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.”