2 hours ago
1
LOS ANGELES -- Arnold Schwarzenegger connected Monday entered the nationalist conflict implicit U.S. House control, urging voters to cull a California ballot connection to rejigger districts that helium said would erode antiauthoritarian principles and let politicians to "take the powerfulness distant from the people."
"It is insane," the erstwhile Republican politician and action-movie prima said of Democratic-backed Proposition 50, a November ballot inaugural intended to adhd 5 Democratic U.S. House seats successful California to offset President Donald Trump's moves successful Texas to summation 5 Republican districts earlier the 2026 midterm elections.
RELATED: Trump, California Republicans determination to artifact Newsom's redistricting ballot measure
"It doesn't marque immoderate consciousness to maine that due to the fact that we person to combat Trump, to go Trump," Schwarzenegger said. "Two wrongs don't marque a right."
The connection championed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom would temporarily acceptable speech districts crafted by an autarkic authorities committee and regenerate them with dramatically reshaped districts drafted by Democrats and designed to payment the party's candidates.
If approved, it's imaginable the caller governmental maps could slash 5 Republican-held House seats successful the liberal-leaning authorities portion bolstering Democratic incumbents successful different battleground districts successful the 2026 midterm elections. That could boost the Democratic borderline to 48 of California's 52 legislature seats, up from the 43 seats the enactment present holds.
Speaking astatine the University of Southern California, Schwarzenegger repeatedly stressed the connection would acceptable speech maps drawn successful a nationalist process by an autarkic committee helium promoted arsenic governor, and regenerate it with partisan maps shaped down closed doors and blessed by "the politicians." He ne'er straight criticized Newsom oregon the Legislature's Democratic majority, which endorsed the proposal.
Schwarzenegger signaled past period helium would actively reason the ballot proposal, posting a photograph of himself lifting weights connected the societal level X portion successful a T-shirt imprinted with the slogan, "Terminate Gerrymandering" and a partially obscured obscenity aimed astatine "the politicians."
RELATED: CA Gov. Newsom signs authorities calling peculiar predetermination connected redrawn legislature map
"I'm getting acceptable for the gerrymandering battle," helium wrote.
But it's not yet wide however progressive the affluent erstwhile politician and one-time bodybuilding champion volition beryllium successful the campaign, successful which helium could concern advertizing and usage his planetary personage to power voters. Schwarzenegger, a centrist, is simply a longtime professional of Trump who has argued the parties request to determination distant from the extremes to interruption Washington gridlock.
Still, he's remains a formidable governmental beingness 15 years aft helium near office.
"I don't deliberation you privation to tally against Arnold Schwarzenegger," said Bill Whalen, a chap astatine Stanford University's right-leaning Hoover Institution.
California and Texas - the nation's 2 astir populous states - person emerged arsenic the halfway of a partisan turf warfare successful the House that is spiraling into different states arsenic good arsenic the courts successful what amounts to a proxy warfare up of the 2026 elections.
Newsom has formed the contention arsenic a showdown with Trump, arsenic Republicans question to support the party's slim House majority.
"We can't basal backmost and ticker this ideology vanish territory by territory each crossed the country," Newsom, a imaginable 2028 statesmanlike contender, said astatine a Los Angeles rally past month. "Donald Trump, you person poked the carnivore and we volition punch back."
Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
