A top consultant to Rep. Nancy Mace’s campaign for South Carolina governor announced his resignation Monday, saying the gubernatorial hopeful has “decided to turn her back on MAGA,” Politico reports.
Said Austin McCubbin: “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.”
“Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has stood by her signature on the discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files, but White House officials say her decision is not a smart strategy to gain President Donald Trump’s support in the hotly contested primary for governor of South Carolina,” NOTUS reports.
While Mace isn’t the only Republican who defied Trump by signing onto the petition, she is the only one currently seeking higher office, and the White House has taken note of that.
“The crowded Republican race to be South Carolina’s next governor has erupted into an early, all-out battle to secure Donald Trump’s coveted endorsement, with the candidates going to great lengths to grab the president’s attention 10 months before the primary,” NBC News reports.
“That includes everything from personally sending him positive polls and employing his top allies to mimicking his signature catchphrases and policy proposals.”
“Seeking Trump’s endorsement is hardly a new phenomenon in Republican politics. But what’s notable is how South Carolina’s first open governor’s race in 15 years has so explicitly become a contest about winning the MAGA mantle, as opposed to the issues that once dominated politics in the state, according to interviews with a dozen Republican operatives, strategists and lawmakers.”
“Mullins McLeod, a Democratic candidate for governor and prominent Charleston attorney, is declining to drop from the race after the state party urged him to end his bid,” the Charleston Post & Courier reports.
“The party’s suggestion came after The Post and Courier published a news account and police dash cam video Aug. 12 showing McLeod acting erratically in a profanity-laden rant following his May arrest for alleged disorderly conduct.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is planning an announcement today— with speculation widespread that she’ll launch a gubernatorial bid, the Greenville News reports.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said she plans to decide in the coming days whether to launch a bid for South Carolina governor, The Hill reports.
Said Mace: “I believe I may be forced to run for governor because I can’t watch my beautiful red state of South Carolina go woke. It’s gone woke over the last couple of years.”
“Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), a once-rising star whose career was derailed in a bizarre personal scandal, is quietly discussing a potential comeback bid in 2026,” Pluribus News reports.
“Four sources with knowledge of Sanford’s conversations say he has been speaking with potential donors about a bid to replace Gov. Henry McMaster (R), who faces term limits.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said that she is “seriously considering” a gubernatorial run in 2026 and will make a final decision in the coming weeks, the AP reports.
Mace said that she plans to ask for support from President Trump, who has maintained popularity in the state since his 2016 primary win there helped cement his status as the GOP presidential nominee.
“Just weeks after winning reelection to her House seat, Rep. Nancy Mace is already looking at a statewide bid in 2026,” NOTUS reports.
“The sources said Mace has been discussing two positions: South Carolina governor or a Senate race. (Sen. Lindsey Graham is up for reelection in 2026.)”
“But three of the sources said Mace is particularly looking at the governor’s seat, which Henry McMaster has held since 2017 when he replaced Nikki Haley after she was appointed to be Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations. McMaster is term-limited in 2026 and can’t run again.”
Joe Cunningham (D) raised more than $400,000 in the first 48 hours of his bid for South Carolina governor, besting the total that incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster (R) brought in over the first three months of the year, the Charleston Post & Courier reports.
Former Rep. Joe Cunningham (D) confirmed to the Charleston Post and Courier that he will announce his 2022 campaign for governor of South Carolina on April 26.
“The move puts an end to months of speculation about whether the ambitious one-term congressman would enter the political arena again. Now, he’s challenging Republican Gov. Henry McMaster (R) in a bid to become the first Democrat in the South Carolina governor’s mansion since 1998.”
Former Rep. Joe Cunningham (D) filed paperwork to mount a formal challenge against incumbent South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) in 2022, the Columbia State reports.
“Potential 2020 presidential contender Cory Booker (D) will come to South Carolina — a crucial early primary state — to campaign for James Smith, the Democratic nominee for governor,” The State reports.
“South Carolina has become an important test for White House contenders. It’s traditionally the first big test of a presidential candidate’s ability to win votes in the South and has been particularly significant for non-Southerners aiming to prove they have appeal in the region.”
Catherine Templeton (R) made waves in her first public forum as gubernatorial candidate in South Carolina by saying she is “proud of the Confederacy” and pledged “we’re not going to rewrite history” by removing Confederate monuments, the Charleston Post & Courier reports.
Said Templeton: “You cannot rewrite history. I don’t care whose feelings it hurts. You cannot rewrite history.”
She added: “We’re standing on the shoulders of giants in South Carolina. And it’s why are are, who we are, where we are. And I very much respect the men who gave their homes, their fortunes and their lives to put us in this position.”
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) said he has ruled out a bid for South Carolina governor in 2018, the Spartanburg Herald Journal reports.
Said Scott: “The more I pray, the more I am comfortable that where I am is where I want to be right now. You’ve got to have fire to run for governor. We are finding fire and that is staying (in the Senate).”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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