A retired three-star Navy vice admiral who was fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last year is now one step closer to a seat in Congress. Nancy Lacore has advanced to a June 23 Democratic primary runoff in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, the seat being vacated by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who is running for governor.
It is an unmistakable storyline: a career military officer pushed out of uniform by the sitting Defense Secretary is now asking voters to send her to Washington, where she could one day have a say over the very Pentagon that showed her the door.
A Firing She Called “Without Cause”
Lacore’s dismissal came on Aug. 22, 2025, as part of a broader wave of senior military removals under Hegseth. She has publicly described the move as a firing “without cause,” framing her ouster as a troubling example of the kind of accountability gap she now says she wants to challenge from inside Congress.
The dismissals of senior officers drew scrutiny at the time, raising questions about the independence of the military’s top ranks and the speed with which experienced leaders were shown the door. For Lacore, that experience has become the central argument of her campaign rather than a chapter she would rather forget.
What the Runoff Actually Decides
It is important to be precise about where this race stands. Lacore has not won the seat, and she has not advanced to the general election. The June 23 contest is a Democratic primary runoff against attorney Mac Deford. Whoever wins that runoff becomes the Democratic nominee and moves on to the November general election.
And the road from there is steep. The Cook Political Report rates South Carolina’s 1st District as solidly Republican, one of the more reliably red seats in the state. Even the eventual Democratic nominee would enter November as a clear underdog in a district drawn to stay in Republican hands.
Mace’s Move Opens the Seat
The opening exists because Rep. Nancy Mace is stepping up to a statewide race for governor, leaving her House seat without an incumbent. Open seats reshuffle the math of any race, and they tend to draw a wider field of candidates eager to make a play for a spot that does not come available often.
For Democrats, an open seat in a Republican-leaning district is a long-shot opportunity rather than a likely flip. But a candidate with Lacore’s background changes the calculus of attention, if not the underlying partisan lean. A fired admiral on the ballot is the kind of candidate who draws eyes to a race that might otherwise fly under the radar.
What This Means for Voters
Beyond the horse race, Lacore’s candidacy puts a sharp question in front of voters: what happens when someone removed from a position of public trust turns around and seeks one directly from the people? Her campaign is betting that her record of service, and the circumstances of her firing, will resonate with voters who want more oversight of decisions made behind closed doors at the Pentagon.
Whether that argument can travel beyond the Democratic base in a solidly Republican district is the open question of the year for this race. The runoff on June 23 is the first real test. November, if she gets there, would be a far steeper one.
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