Political career of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger is an actor and former bodybuilder who served as Governor of California from November 2003 to January 2011 after being first elected in the 2003 recall election and having won re-election in 2006. It is the first elected office he has held, but was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, in which he served from 1990 to 1993 and was Chairman of California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson.

Schwarzenegger is a registered Republican. He describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially moderate (e.g., he is pro-choice, supports taxpayer-funded embryonic stem cell research, and supports same-sex marriage). Schwarzenegger backed Republican President Ronald Reagan while Reagan was in office, and campaigned for George H.W. Bush in 1988. However, he chastised fellow Republicans during the impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998. Sensing an opportunity to affect the outcome of the 2004 Presidential race, Schwarzenegger campaigned in Ohio for Republican George W. Bush in the closing days of the campaign. Schwarzenegger offered praise for the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, John McCain. He called McCain a "great senator" and "very good friend" who shared his views on critical issues. He officially endorsed McCain for the Republican presidential nomination on January 31, 2008.

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