Schwarzenegger weighs in on Maryland redistricting fight

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is weighing in on the redistricting process in Maryland as state lawmakers convene their legislative session to consider a new General Assembly map.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is slated to deliver his own legislative map, drawn by the state’s independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, to the General Assembly on Wednesday morning. The Democratic-controlled General Assembly is expected to reject that proposal and instead approve lines drawn by a panel of state lawmakers.

In a letter to Hogan, Schwarzenegger threw his support behind the redistricting commission’s maps and criticized the lines drawn by state lawmakers, calling them an “ugly” example of partisan gerrymandering. 

“Maryland’s gerrymander is an ugly one, and the vast majority of your citizens oppose it,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “I hope the Maryland Legislature will listen to their constituents and pass fair maps, and serve as public servants instead of party servants.”

Both Hogan and Schwarzenegger have long criticized gerrymandering, the practice in which political lines are drawn to benefit one party over the other. During his tenure as governor, Schwarzenegger backed a ballot initiative creating an independent redistricting commission in California, while Hogan signed an executive order last year creating the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission.

The two Republicans jointly filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 in a case involving accusations of gerrymandering in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District.

Maryland state lawmakers approved a new congressional map in December that keeps the current partisan lean of the state’s eight House seats; seven lean Democratic, while one leans Republican. The new map, however, makes the single GOP-leaning district more competitive. 

Hogan vetoed the map, calling it “disgracefully gerrymandered.” The Democratic-controlled state legislature overrode that veto, making it law. So far, two lawsuits have been filed challenging the new congressional map. 

In his letter to Hogan, Schwarzenegger recalled his own efforts to create California’s independent redistricting commission, saying that while the proposal received fierce pushback at the time, the move ultimately put the commission’s supporters “on the right side” of history.

“You’re going to get some beatings, believe me. When we created our redistricting commission in California, both parties campaigned against me, and I heard it all,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “What the Democrats called a ‘Republican power grab’ ended up electing more Democrats, and in hindsight, I think they realize they were on the wrong side of history.”