[7] McCabe was born in Stoughton, Wisconsin and lived on an 80-acre farm near Evansville in the early part of his childhood.

Mike worked for six years as communications director and legislative liaison for Madison public schools.

He also worked as a newspaper reporter and as a legislative aide for three Republican members of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

[9] McCabe's group was influential in banning the legislative caucus staff that performed campaign work on state time.

With McCabe as executive director, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign tracked campaign contributions during state elections[10][11] in pursuit of its mission, which is to "advocate for a real democracy that allows the common good to prevail over narrow interests by reinforcing and protecting the values of honesty, fairness, transparency, accountability, citizen participation, competition, and respect for constitutional rights and the rule of law.