Austin McCubbin, longtime advisor to Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, resigned Monday from her 2026 gubernatorial campaign, citing his loyalty to President Donald Trump in a post shared to his verified X account.
“Nancy Mace has yet again decided to turn her back on MAGA to hug the political cactus that is the Rand Paul + Thomas Massie wing of the Party. I have notified her and her team that I am resigning because of this.”
“My name has been used publicly, while going back on her word to pay me, to trade on my Team Trump status and to work on her behalf with the White House, and I am 100% breaking with her campaign out of loyalty to the President,” McCubbin’s statement read in part.
Nancy Mace has yet again decided to turn her back on MAGA to hug the political cactus that is the Rand Paul + Thomas Massie wing of the Party.
I have notified her and her team that I am resigning because of this.
My name has been used publicly, while going back on her word to… https://t.co/h1pYBe0ZFr
— J. Austin McCubbin (@austinmccubbin) December 1, 2025
In the same statement, McCubbin claimed Mace has embraced the Rand Paul-aligned Protect Freedom PAC.
“Earlier this year, Nancy parted ways with her General Consultant, because he was openly criticizing the President’s Iran strike and siding with Thomas Massie. Last month, the Rand Paul-affiliated Protect Freedom PAC began spending money on Nancy’s behalf. I had no prior knowledge of that, and campaigns can’t control outside spending. I chalked it up to nothing but independent activity.”
“When I talked to Nancy last Wednesday, it became clear she has fully embraced the Rand Paul PAC. She told me she is directing a personal friend to fund a 7-figure check to Rand’s PAC. She distanced herself, and now she’s fully embracing the Rand Paul + Thomas Massie wing for money. Nancy Mace is wittingly or unwittingly a proxy for Rand Paul’s 2028 presidential campaign,” McCubbin’s statement continued.
McCubbin previously managed Mace’s 2022 congressional campaign, according to the Post and Courier. His comments follow Mace’s recent decision to keep her name on a discharge petition compelling Congress to release the Epstein files, WCIV reported.
Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna fought to release the files with a majority of the House signing the discharge petition, allowing them to force a vote without committee or leadership approval, according to WCIV. Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul previously broke with his colleagues to vote for an amendment sponsored by Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer that would order the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release all the unclassified files, The Hill reported on Sept. 10.
McCubbin told the Post and Courier that Trump’s team is aware of his resignation. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Nancy Mace Explains Why She ‘Might Be Forced To Run’ For Governor)
Mace officially entered the South Carolina 2026 gubernatorial race in August 2025, according to the South Carolina Daily Gazette. When addressing McCubbin’s exit from her campaign, a Mace spokesperson told the Post and Courier she has “stood with President Trump since Day One.”
“Nancy Mace has stood with President Trump since Day One. Mr. McCubbin said it himself: ‘Nancy Mace will be the most pro-Trump and America First Governor in the country,’” the same spokesperson said.
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