Arnold Schwarzenegger is stepping again into the political enviornment as a crusader towards partisan redistricting.
Urging Californians to “terminate gerrymandering,” the previous governor and Hollywood icon has joined the likes of former GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy, investor Charlie Munger and state GOP legislators in pushing again on the plan, which may web 5 Democratic Home seats by briefly bypassing the state’s impartial redistricting fee.
Schwarzenegger has lengthy been a champion of the fee, which voters authorised throughout his tenure as governor. Political consultants see him coming into the highlight to defend his legacy — whilst present California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) stresses that the redistricting plan received’t undercut the prevailing 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,” stated Dan Schnur, a former Republican strategist who’s at present a professor on the College of California at Berkeley and College of Southern California.
“He sees it as under threat.”
California Democrats, led by Newsom, are asking voters to approve a poll measure through particular election this fall that will successfully circumvent the Golden State’s impartial redistricting fee, permitting Legislature-approved strains to take impact mid-decade.
The plan may successfully nullify Republican-led redistricting in Texas, the place the state Legislature final week authorised new strains that would web 5 GOP Home seats — after President Trump recommended the GOP is “entitled” to 5 extra Home seats.
Newsom sees the Texas strikes as a part of a broader Republican effort to rig subsequent yr’s midterms and has confused that, if the plan is authorised, the ability to redistrict would finally return to the impartial fee, after the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections.
However Schwarzenegger has hit again towards the efforts in each 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 instructed the Houston Chronicle earlier this month.
Throughout his two-term tenure as governor, he championed the 2008 and 2010 voter-approved initiatives that established after which expanded the impartial redistricting fee.
In a mid-August interview, the Republican Hollywood heavyweight instructed the New York Occasions that he has a very good relationship with Newsom and isn’t attempting to assist Trump, however somewhat that he desires to defend the system he helped construct.
“It’s nothing personal,” he instructed the Occasions, as he pledged to combat for his “promise” of citizen-led redistricting.
California Republican strategist Mike Madrid, co-founder of the Lincoln Challenge, referred to as Schwarzenegger’s effort a 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 stated.
“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 towards Proposition 50, Madrid stated, in comparison with different figures who seem like weighing in from a extra partisan perspective.
Precise particulars of how Schwarzenegger might combat again over the subsequent 9 weeks stay unclear, however he’s signaled readiness for “the gerrymandering battle.”
On his “Arnold’s Pump Club” web site, he’s promoting a “terminate gerrymandering” shirt, a nod to his blockbuster movie. The proceeds are being break up between the California and Texas branches of the League of Ladies Voters, a nonprofit opposing partisan redistricting — although the California leg has stated it is not taking a stance on Prop 50.
He’s additionally backed an effort, Politico reported this week, from Munger, the megadonor who helped fund the poll measures that arrange the fee initially.
In remarks at a Politico summit on Wednesday, Newsom confused that he has lengthy supported impartial redistricting — and that the poll measure itself helps the system, “except for a temporary period, just for congressional seats, to respond to this unprecedented assault.”
He additionally revealed he’s spoken to his predecessor in regards to the push.
“I visited with Arnold on this. We debated this,” the governor stated, shrugging off a suggestion that the pair publicly debate the difficulty.
“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 additionally stated he reminded Schwarzenegger that “we’re actually protecting his legacy by maintaining the independent redistricting and affirming it.”
The textual content of the modification proposal acknowledges that it’s California coverage “to support the use of fair, independent, and nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide” and calls on Congress to cross federal laws for a U.S. constitutional modification that requires the system nationwide.
In the meantime, former Speaker and fundraising juggernaut McCarthy can be rallying assist to “stop Newsom’s power grab.” And Trump, although he’s not concerned with marketing campaign efforts, has vowed lawsuits towards California over the plans.
If Trump does get extra concerned, that would pose issues for the opposition — whereas Schwarzenegger’s tack is extra more likely to resonate with the overwhelmingly blue voter base in California.
“Leave it to someone like Schwarzenegger, and it’s gonna have far more credibility … Voters won’t see him as a partisan actor,” stated California Democratic strategist Matt Rodriguez.
Each opposition camps — the extra conventional Republicans and the reformers — need to beat Proposition 50, stated Schnur.
“They’re working totally different methods. They’re hoping that their efforts can finally turn out to be and finally complement one another. However there’s inevitably going to be factors of friction when it comes to message, when it comes to technique, and when it comes to fundraising,” Schnur stated.
With a brief runway to a Nov. 4 particular election, the California redistricting combat may rapidly turn out to be some of the costly and contentious poll measure campaigns in state historical past.
The trouble has already drawn greater than $13 million in assist and $10 million in opposition, in accordance with tallies from the California secretary of state, as of Friday. Munger has contributed the majority of the opposition {dollars}, data present.
And campaigning isn’t the one avenue California Republicans are utilizing to push again.
California GOP legislators have to date filed two petitions to try to halt the plan earlier than the state Supreme Courtroom. Each had been rejected, however political consultants anticipate this isn’t the top of authorized challenges towards the maps.
The highest Republican within the California Meeting this week additionally proposed a “two state solution,” suggesting the Golden State be break up to isolate redder inland areas in response to redistricting. Although it isn’t seen as a viable proposal within the Democratic supermajorty-controlled legislature, it highlights the depth of Republican pushback.
On the similar time, Democrats are revving as much as make the combat 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,” stated David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State College who has labored on books about poll measures.
