California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, have taken opposite sides of a top issue going into the 2025 elections.
Newsom is hoping that voters approve Ballot Proposition 50 this November. It would allow him to redraw the state’s district voter maps with minimal opposition.
“The effort in California … could create five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts,” Fox News notes.
The goal is to prevent Republicans from gaining even more power nationwide.
Trump and Texas republicans are flushing democracy down the toilet. Californians can stop Trump cold by voting yes on Prop 50. pic.twitter.com/K5ZsKa7MXZ
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 4, 2025
“If we lose here, we are going to have total Republican control in the House, the Senate, and the White House for at least two more years,” the governor said in a recent fundraising appeal. “If we win here, we can put a check on Trump for his final two years.”
“Heaven help us if we lose. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Democrats,” he added.
There’s just one problem. Schwarzenegger staunchly opposes this move and is lobbying hard against it — and for a good reason. He’s the reason the current system is the way it is.
“During his tenure as governor, Schwarzenegger had a starring role in the passage of constitutional amendments in California in 2008 and 2010 that took the power to draw state legislative and congressional districts away from politicians and placed it in the hands of an independent commission,” according to Fox News.
Schwarzenegger started speaking out about Prop 50 last month at the University of Southern California.
“I hate to get political here, but this is not political — this is more about democracy,” he said while at the school, according to CNN. “If you vote yes on that, we go backwards.”
“They want to get rid of it under the auspices of, ‘We have to fight Trump.’ Doesn’t make any sense to me. Two bad behaviors don’t make a right behavior. Two wrongs don’t make a right,” he added.
He later participated in an anti-Proposition 50 ad:
(Video Credit: Team Punchbowl News)
“What they want to do is take us backwards — this is why it is important for you to vote no on Prop 50,” Schwarzenegger said in the ad above. “Democracy — we’ve got to protect it, and we’ve got to go and fight for it.”
During Schwarzenegger’s University of Southern California appearance, one student asked him why redistricting matters amid the existence of “more existential issues.”
The former governor pushed back hard on this logic by accusing Prop 50’s supporters of making excuses about the alleged need to redraw the state’s maps.
“I don’t think that they use it for any other purpose other than weakening democracy in California, to be honest with you,” he said. “I think that we have to do everything that we can to educate the people and to make sure that the people understand that the politicians want to take the power away from the people here in California.”
“It was the politicians that drew the maps, and there was no one from the public at all participating in this process. They are trying to fight for democracy by getting rid of the democratic principles of California,” he added.
The problem with the old system, he continued, was that it promoted partisanship, in that it incentivized politicians on the left to run far to the left of the center, while it incentivized politicians on the right to run far to the right of the center.
“I could see, when I was sitting as governor, how we couldn’t get things done because of the way the districts were drawn,” the former governor conceded.
NEWS: In an exclusive interview with @CNN, @Schwarzenegger tells me that Democrats’ plan to redistrict California’s congressional districts (Prop. 50) is a “scam” and “a big mistake.”@GavinNewsom wants California voters to temporarily eliminate its independent redistricting… pic.twitter.com/wqzWXFVj2S
— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) September 26, 2025
Confronted by CNN, a spokesperson for the official “Yes on 50” campaign completely ignored all the points made by Schwarzenegger and instead whined about President Donald Trump.
“Voting ‘Yes on 50’ is California’s best chance of blocking Trump’s unprecedented redistricting power grab,” spokesperson Hannah Milgrom said. “If Trump is able to steal unchecked power for two more years, he’ll have free rein to keep up his assault on our rights – taking away healthcare, denying a woman’s right to choose, and cutting funding for universities — including 400m from USC alone.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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