Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is stepping back into the political arena as a crusader against partisan redistricting.

Urging Californians to “terminate gerrymandering,” the former governor and Hollywood icon has joined the likes of former GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), investor Charlie Munger and state GOP legislators in pushing back on the plan, which could net five Democratic House seats by temporarily bypassing the state’s independent redistricting commission.

Schwarzenegger has long been a champion of the commission, which voters approved during his tenure as governor. Political experts see him entering the spotlight to defend his legacy — even as current California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) stresses that the redistricting plan won’t undercut the existing 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,” said Dan Schnur, a former Republican strategist who’s currently a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and University of Southern California.

“He sees it as under threat.”

California Democrats, led by Newsom, are asking voters to approve a ballot measure via a special election this fall that would effectively circumvent the Golden State’s independent redistricting commission, allowing Legislature-approved lines to take effect mid-decade.

The plan could effectively nullify Republican-led redistricting in Texas, where the state Legislature last week approved new lines that could net five GOP House seats — after President Trump suggested the GOP is “entitled” to five more House seats.

Newsom sees the Texas moves as part of a broader Republican effort to rig next year’s midterms and has stressed that, if the plan is approved, the power to redistrict would eventually return to the independent commission, after the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections.

But Schwarzenegger has hit back against the efforts in both 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

© The Hill