Nancy Lacore, a retired three-star Navy rear admiral who was fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last year as part of a far-ranging purge of senior military officers, won the Democratic primary in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District on Tuesday, according to results reported by the Guardian and other outlets.
Lacore defeated Mac Deford, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, in a runoff election that determined the party’s nominee for the seat now held by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace. Mace chose not to seek reelection and instead mounted an unsuccessful campaign for South Carolina governor, leaving the district open for the first time in years.
Jenny Costa Honeycutt, a member of the Charleston County council, secured the Republican nomination on Tuesday and will face Lacore in November’s general election. The district, which covers the Charleston area and coastal communities, has been represented by Republicans for most of the past decade but is viewed by Democrats as potentially competitive in a midterm environment.
Lacore was among dozens of senior officers removed during Hegseth’s ongoing elimination from military leadership of individuals considered to have crossed the Trump administration or who did not fit the defense secretary’s vision for the armed services, according to the Guardian. She was fired from her post as a three-star admiral in 2025.
Since entering the race, Lacore has drawn on a network of military and veterans’ support. She is backed by several veterans’ groups and by EMILY’s List, a national organization that supports Democratic women who favor abortion rights. According to a New York Times analysis of federal campaign finance records, Lacore raised $500,000 in her first two weeks as a candidate and more than $1.4 million through late May.
She is also one of 12 House candidates backed by the Bench, a Democratic strategy group that advises candidates in districts considered harder to win, the Guardian reported. The group’s support signals that national Democratic strategists see the open seat as a pickup opportunity worth investing in.
With the primary behind her, Lacore now shifts to a general election campaign that will test whether a military background and a compelling personal story can overcome the district’s Republican lean in a midterm election year. Honeycutt, a local elected official with ties to the party establishment, will carry the GOP banner.