AOC, Schwarzenegger star in campaign ads on either side of Prop. 50
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PROP. 50 CAMPAIGNS BRING THE STARPOWER
The persuasion campaign on either side of Proposition 50 continued its crescendo Tuesday as campaigns unveiled ads with political stars Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, speaking for California’s new congressional map and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger against it.
While Schwarzenegger is not actively campaigning against the measure, the “No” campaign spot – paid for by GOP donor Charles Munger Jr.’s committee – features clips of the former governor urging people to vote against Prop. 50 during a recent USC forum.
The university’s logo was scrubbed from the forum’s backdrop and replaced with a “NO50” logo in the ad. USC officials told the campaign in a letter that the university did not consent to its logo or interim president Beong-Soo Kim’s name or likeness appearing in any campaign material.
“Last Monday’s International Democracy Day event was nonpartisan and not held in coordination with any campaign. The university is not taking a position on this measure,” a university spokeswoman said in a statement. “We regret any confusion in this regard.”
The “No” campaign is spending about $1 million per day to run the ad on digital, broadcast, cable and social media, according to spokesperson Amy Thoma Tan.
In an ad from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign, Ocasio-Cortez endorses Prop. 50 as a way to fight President Donald Trump’s push for Republican states to deliver more GOP-controlled seats in Congress.
“Donald Trump is redrawing election maps to force through a Congress that only answers to him, not the people,” the New York progressive says. “With Prop. 50 we can stop him. Prop. 50 levels the playing field and gives power back to the people.”
Ocasio-Cortez also stars in a similar Spanish language ad. Newsom’s campaign said the spot would run online and on broadcast television.
Prop. 50 asks voters to implement a new congressional map gerrymandered to benefit Democrats until after the 2030 election, when the state’s redistricting power would return to an independent citizen-led commission.
During the abbreviated period before the Nov. 4 special election, the “Yes” side has also featured high-profile political figures like Newsom and Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla of California and Elizabeth Warren.
LATINOS ON PROP. 50
via Lia Russell
With less than 50 days to Election Day, Gov. Gavin Newsom turned to fundraising and celebrity endorsements to get out his message about why California needs to redraw its congressional boundaries to break the GOP’s hold on Congress.
But according to the Latino Community Foundation and pollster Gary Segura of BSP Research, quite a few people remain unaware of the debate surrounding Prop. 50, despite the millions of dollars and myriad celebrity endorsements being poured into both sides of the issue.
BSP and the LCF surveyed 1,200 registered Latino voters across the state from Sept. 8-16, with phone and online interviews conducted in English and Spanish. Latinos are the state’s largest voting bloc, making up 40% of Californians.
Some 57% of respondents said they did not know how they would be affected by the new boundaries, which are intended to draw more liberal-leaning voters into five areas currently held by Republican representatives. Another 34% said they thought they would likely remain in the same district as before, while another 10% said their district representative would change.
Some 85% of respondents said it was important to them that they vote on the issue, while 15% said it was unimportant. The poll had a margin of error of 2.83 points.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“What is the purpose of the United Nations? The UN has such tremendous potential … but it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential. All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter.”
-President Donald Trump in a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York
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This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 4:55 AM with the headline "AOC, Schwarzenegger star in campaign ads on either side of Prop. 50."
