“It doesn’t make any sense to me that because we have to fight Trump, to become Trump,” Schwarzenegger said.
If approved, it’s possible the new political maps could slash five Republican-held House seats in the liberal-leaning state while bolstering Democratic incumbents in other battleground districts in the 2026 midterm elections.
That could boost the Democratic margin to 48 of California’s 52 congressional seats, up from the 43 seats the party now holds.
“I don’t think you want to run against Arnold Schwarzenegger,” said Bill Whalen, a fellow at Stanford University’s right-leaning Hoover Institution.
Newsom has cast the contest as a showdown with Trump, as Republicans seek to maintain the party’s slim House majority.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Arnold Schwarzenegger made his national debut Monday in the fight over U.S. S. . House control, pleading with voters to turn down a ballot proposal to redraw districts in California, which he claimed would undermine democratic values and give politicians the ability to “take the power away from the people.”. “”.
The former Republican governor and action movie star called the Democratic-backed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that would add five Democratic U.S. senators, “mad.”. S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to acquire five Republican districts in Texas prior to the 2026 midterm elections will be counterbalanced by House seats in California.
Because we have to fight Trump in order to become Trump, Schwarzenegger stated, “It doesn’t make any sense to me.”. “Two wrongs don’t equal one right.”. “.”.
The Democratic Governor’s proposal. Districts created by an independent state commission would be temporarily removed by Gavin Newsom, who would then replace them with drastically altered districts created by Democrats with the intention of assisting the party’s candidates.
If accepted, the new political maps might help Democratic incumbents in other battleground districts in the 2026 midterm elections while reducing the number of Republican-held House seats in the liberal state by five. That might increase California’s Democratic margin from the party’s current 43 congressional seats to 48 of the state’s 52 seats.
In remarks at the University of Southern California, Schwarzenegger emphasized time and again that the plan would replace the maps created by an independent commission he supported as governor through a public process with partisan maps created behind closed doors and approved by “the politicians.”. He never specifically attacked Newsom or the Democratic majority in the Legislature, which supported the plan.
When Schwarzenegger posted a picture of himself lifting weights on the social media site X last month, wearing a T-shirt bearing the words “Terminate Gerrymandering” and a partially obscured profanity directed at “the politicians,” he gave the indication that he would vigorously oppose the ballot proposal. “.”.
He wrote, “I am preparing for the battle of gerrymandering.”.
He is still a powerful political figure fifteen years after he stepped down.
Bill Whalen, a fellow at Stanford University’s conservative Hoover Institution, stated, “I don’t think you want to run against Arnold Schwarzenegger.”.
Prior to the 2026 elections, California and Texas, the two most populous states in the country, have become the focal point of a partisan turf war in the House that is spreading to other states and the courts in what is essentially a proxy war.
As Republicans look to hold onto their slim House majority, Newsom has framed the race as a battle with Trump.
