Schwarzenegger on redistricting push: Parties ‘trying to out-cheat each other’

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Sunday characterized the redistricting efforts across the country as a battle between Republicans and Democrats “trying to out-cheat each other.”

In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the actor and fitness enthusiast sharply criticized his own state of California for going down the same path as Texas.

“There's this war going on all over the United States: Who can out cheat the other one? You know, Texas started it. They did something terribly wrong. And then all of a sudden California says, ‘Well, then we have to do something terribly wrong.’ And then now other states are jumping in, and now this is spreading like wildfire all over the country,” Schwarzenegger said.

“And it saddens me to see that we’re going in the opposite direction, rather than having an independent commission draw the district lines,” he added.

California Democrats, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) are currently pushing voters to approve Proposition 50, which would circumvent a constitutional measure granting an independent body authority over redistricting to instead create Legislature-approved lines ahead of next year’s midterm elections. The move follows GOP-led redistricting efforts in Texas.

But Schwarzenegger, who previously called Newsom's move "a big scam," said Democrats instead should try to outperform their Republican counterparts, rather than “cheat” the system.

“When you think about this trying to out-cheat each other, rather than outperform each other, it's all between Democrats and Republicans, and the ones that are getting left behind are the people,” he said.

Other states, including Missouri and North Carolina, have already sought to redraw congressional lines in the wake of Texas and California's efforts.