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Schwarzenegger Rises Against Newsom’s Redistricting Plan

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Arnold Schwarzenegger
Photo Credit: "Arnold Schwarzenegger" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?ref=openverse.

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is preparing to stand against Governor Gavin Newsom’s effort to eliminate the state’s independent redistricting commission, a move the current governor hopes will reshape California’s political map.

Daniel Ketchell, Schwarzenegger’s spokesperson, told Politico that the former governor regards gerrymandering as a “truly evil” practice.

“He calls gerrymandering evil, and he means that. He thinks it’s truly evil for politicians to take power from people,” Ketchell said.

Newsom is pushing to redraw California’s congressional districts to secure five additional Democratic-leaning seats in the U.S. House before next year’s midterms.

This move counters a Republican-led initiative in Texas to add five more GOP-favored congressional districts in the Lone Star State.

Texas Republicans’ attempt to alter district lines mid-decade is part of a larger GOP strategy aimed at preserving their slim House majority and softening losses elsewhere.

During Trump’s first term, Democrats reclaimed the House in the 2018 midterms, spurring the GOP’s current efforts to prevent a repeat scenario.

In a dramatic protest against Texas’s redistricting plans, many Democratic state legislators fled Texas to avoid votes on the new maps.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott called for these lawmakers’ arrest and prosecution upon their return.

Schwarzenegger opposes both the Republican gambit in Texas and Newsom’s plan to follow suit in California.

Ketchell emphasized, “He’s opposed to what Texas is doing, and he’s opposed to the idea that California would race to the bottom to do the same thing.”

During his governorship, Schwarzenegger played a pivotal role in passing constitutional amendments in 2008 and 2010 that transferred the authority to draw legislative and congressional districts away from politicians and into the hands of an independent, nonpartisan commission.

Unlike Texas, where no constitutional barrier exists to block the GOP’s redistricting efforts, Newsom faces a rockier road in California.

The state’s constitution currently protects the independent commission model.

To undo this, Newsom is moving to call a special election this year seeking voter approval to repeal the constitutional amendments that established the commission.

This would require a two-thirds majority vote in California’s Democrat-controlled legislature to even hold the referendum.

“The proposal that we’re advancing with the legislature has a trigger only if they move forward, to dismantling the protocols that are well-established,” Newsom said Monday.

“Would the state of California move forward in kind? Fighting? Yes, fire with fire.”

Newsom framed the California initiative as a reaction to Texas’s actions. “It’s cause and effect, triggered on the basis of what occurs or doesn’t occur in Texas,” he explained.

“I hope they do the right thing, and if they do, then there’ll be no cause for us to have to move forward.”

He also stressed that Californians would have the ultimate say in the matter.

“We will offer them the opportunity to make judgments for themselves, again, only if Texas moves forward,” Newsom said.

Meanwhile, reality TV figure Spencer Pratt has taken his grievances about California’s government response to recent devastating wildfires to Washington, D.C.

Pratt, known for his role on MTV’s The Hills, lost his Pacific Palisades home in the blazes.

Frustrated by what he calls a lack of accountability and slow rebuilding efforts, Pratt is pushing federal officials to investigate and act.

In an Instagram video, Pratt said he’s meeting with key federal figures to prevent similar disasters in the rest of the country. “Justice is coming,” he declared.

Though he has not met with President Trump, Pratt reported productive discussions with several other officials, including Acting U.S. Attorney Bolal Essayli for the Central District of California.

Pratt told Variety that he is becoming a relentless critic of Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for their handling of fire recovery.

“I’m literally their worst nightmare because I have nothing to lose, and all I’m ever gonna do is just post actual facts,” Pratt said.

He labeled the fires as “criminal negligence” due to preventable failures and lamented the loss of life, including 12 deaths in the Palisades fire alone.

According to Pratt, his meeting with Essayli centered on concerns that the FireAid relief fund’s distribution has been mishandled, and that a genuine investigation is underway.

“The theme [of what we discussed] is in alignment with what many people in the Palisades and Altadena were already feeling — that there’s a lot more to FireAid than it seems,” Pratt said.

“And let’s just say a lot more will be coming out, and this was not ‘Spencer spreading misinformation and suspicions of victims not actually receiving any of the FireAid funds.’ That investigation is a real deal type of thing.”

Pratt admitted that although making TikTok videos helped him raise awareness, his trip to D.C. marked a turning point.

“To be in front of somebody who can provide answers to the victims who have been literally thinking about this all day long for over seven months, that was life changing,” he reflected.

He also met with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, and officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, among others.

Pratt suggested that the ongoing wildfire fallout could end Newsom’s hopes for a 2028 presidential run but said he is personally motivated by the devastation wrought upon his family.

“Everything I ever bought in my life burned down. Everything my parents ever bought in their life burned down. Like the stakes are so real,” Pratt said.

“I’m doing this because they destroyed my life…. it’s like, ‘I can’t ever have my life back.’”

Pratt accused Newsom and Bass of spreading misinformation and propaganda, calling the wildfire tragedy “the most preventable thing that could ever have been.”

He finished by thanking other fire victims who have reached out, fueling his determination to hold state officials accountable.

“I’m becoming worse of a nightmare for them every day because now people are finding my number — other people whose lives burned down — and they send text messages that are like rocket fuel to me,” he said.

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