Arnold Schwarzenegger enters fight on US House control, urges vote against new California districts

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday entered the national battle over U.S. House control, urging voters to reject a California ballot proposal to rejigger districts that he said would erode democratic principles and allow politicians to “take the power away from the people.”

“It is insane,” the former Republican governor and action-movie star said of Democratic-backed Proposition 50, a November ballot initiative intended to add five Democratic U.S. House seats in California to offset President Donald Trump's moves in Texas to gain five Republican districts before the 2026 midterm elections.

“It doesn’t make any sense to me that because we have to fight Trump, to become Trump,” Schwarzenegger said. “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

The proposal championed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom would temporarily set aside districts crafted by an independent state commission and replace them with dramatically reshaped districts drafted by Democrats and designed to benefit the party's candidates.

If approved, it's possible the new political maps could slash five Republican-held House seats in the liberal-leaning state while bolstering Democratic incumbents in other battleground districts in the 2026 midterm elections. That could boost the Democratic margin to 48 of California’s 52 congressional seats, up from the 43 seats the party now holds.

Speaking at the University of Southern California, Schwarzenegger repeatedly stressed the proposal would set aside maps drawn in a public process by an independent commission he promoted as governor, and replace it with partisan maps shaped behind closed doors and blessed by “the politicians.” He never directly criticized Newsom or the Legislature's Democratic majority, which endorsed the proposal.

Schwarzenegger signaled last month he would actively oppose the ballot proposal, posting a photo of himself lifting weights on the social platform X while in a T-shirt imprinted with the slogan, “Terminate Gerrymandering” and a partially obscured obscenity aimed at “the politicians.”

“I’m getting ready for the gerrymandering battle,” he wrote.

But it's not yet clear how involved the wealthy former governor and one-time bodybuilding champion will be in the campaign, in which he could finance advertising and use his global celebrity to influence voters. Schwarzenegger, a centrist, is a longtime critic of Trump who has argued the parties need to move away from the extremes to break Washington gridlock.

Still, he's remains a formidable political presence 15 years after he left office.

“I don’t think you want to run against Arnold Schwarzenegger,” said Bill Whalen, a fellow at Stanford University’s right-leaning Hoover Institution.

California and Texas — the nation’s two most populous states — have emerged as the center of a partisan turf war in the House that is spiraling into other states as well as the courts in what amounts to a proxy war ahead of the 2026 elections.

Newsom has cast the contest as a showdown with Trump, as Republicans seek to maintain the party's slim House majority.

“We can’t stand back and watch this democracy disappear district by district all across the country,” Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential contender, said at a Los Angeles rally last month. “Donald Trump, you have poked the bear and we will punch back.”

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, right, expresses his opposition to Proposition 50, a California ballot measure to redraw U.S. House maps to boost Democrats, during a conversation with University of Southern California interim president Beong-Soo Kim, left, on democracy at the USC campus in Los Angeles, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Members of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, from left, Jodie Filkins, Peter Yao, Cynthia Dai, and Jeanne Raya, are introduced by former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during a talk with University of Southern California interim president Beong-Soo Kim on a conversation on democracy and Schwarzenegger's opposition to Proposition 50, a California ballot measure to redraw U.S. House maps to boost Democrats, at the USC campus in Los Angeles, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, at podium on left, joins University of Southern California interim president Beong-Soo Kim for a conversation on democracy and Schwarzenegger's opposition to Proposition 50, a California ballot measure to redraw U.S. House maps to boost Democrats, at the USC campus in Los Angeles, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, right, expresses his opposition to Proposition 50, a California ballot measure to redraw U.S. House maps to boost Democrats, during a conversation with University of Southern California interim president Beong-Soo Kim, not shown, on democracy at the USC campus in Los Angeles, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025 (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, right, joins University of Southern California interim president Beong-Soo Kim for a conversation on democracy and Schwarzenegger's opposition to Proposition 50, a California ballot measure to redraw U.S. House maps to boost Democrats, at the USC campus in Los Angeles, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Host Italy has a new contender in Alpine skiing with the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics three weeks away.

Giovanni Franzoni claimed his first World Cup victory on the famed Lauberhorn course in a super-G Friday — four months after his close friend and former roommate, Matteo Franzoso, died in a crash during preseason training in Chile.

The 24-year-old Franzoni — a former world junior champion in super-G, downhill and Alpine combined — was the first racer on course and took advantage of the No. 1 bib to deliver a near-perfect run.

Reaching a top speed of 140.44 kph (87 mph), Franzoni finished 0.35 seconds ahead of Stefan Babinsky of Austria and 0.37 ahead of downhill world champion Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland.

Franzoni handled the tricky Canadian Corner and Kernen S sections on the upper portion of the course cleaner than anyone else.

“I made the difference on the turn where I crashed a few years ago,” he said, referring to his season-ending fall in a super-G in 2023 that resulted in thigh surgery.

Swiss overall World Cup leader Marco Odermatt, a four-time winner in Wengen, placed fourth, 0.53 behind.

The top American was Ryan Cochran-Siegle in sixth.

Franzoni also led both downhill training sessions and could be a contender in the classic downhill on Saturday. His previous best World Cup finish was third in a super-G on home snow in Val Gardena last month.

Now Franzoni will be among the leaders for Italy’s team in Bormio, where men’s Alpine skiing will be contested during the Olympics.

“If you had told me that I would be third in Val Gardena and then win here — on the two courses that I've had the most trouble on — I wouldn't have believed it,” Franzoni said.

The opening ceremony for the Games is scheduled for Feb. 6.

“I don't know about the future, but the present has changed," Franzoni said. "We always live day by day.”

Marco Schwarz, the Austrian who won the previous super-G in Livigno, Italy, last month, missed the race due to sickness.

Also sitting out this weekend is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the Norwegian standout who returned this season after a horrific crash in Wengen two years ago.

“This year," Kilde said on Instagram this week, "it’s just a little too early.”

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Giovanni Franzoni of Italy takes a jump during the alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts at finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen reacts at finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Austria's Stefan Babinsky speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Italy's Giovanni Franzoni reacts at finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Italy's Giovanni Franzoni speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)