Nancy Lacore’s South Carolina primary victory has thrust a fired three-star admiral into the center of one of the country’s most closely watched congressional races. The former navy rear-admiral, dismissed last year during Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s purge of senior military officials, has now captured the Democratic nomination for a key House seat.

From the Pentagon to the Campaign Trail

Lacore secured the nomination in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District on Tuesday after defeating Mac Deford, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, in a runoff. With the primary behind her, her attention now shifts to November, where she will spearhead an ambitious Democratic effort to flip a Republican-held seat in the midterm elections.

Her path to politics is unusual. Lacore was among dozens of officers removed during Hegseth’s ongoing effort to clear out senior military figures viewed as having crossed the Trump administration, or who simply did not align with the defense secretary’s vision for the armed forces.

An Open Seat Up for Grabs

The district is currently represented by Republican Nancy Mace, who decided against seeking re-election. Instead, Mace turned her focus to a bid for South Carolina governor, a challenge that ultimately fell short.

That decision left the seat open, setting up a competitive general election. On the Republican side, Jenny Costa Honeycutt, a member of the Charleston County Council, claimed her party’s nomination on Tuesday. She and Lacore will now face off in the fall.

A Strong Start for a First-Time Candidate

Despite being new to electoral politics, Lacore has quickly built considerable momentum. She has drawn support from several veterans’ groups as well as EMILYs List, the organization that backs Democratic pro-choice candidates.

Her fundraising numbers stand out:

• She raised $500,000 in just her first two weeks as a candidate.
• By late May, she had pulled in more than $1.4 million, according to an analysis of federal campaign finance records.

Lacore is also one of 12 House candidates supported by the Bench, a Democratic strategy group that advises contenders running in districts considered tougher to win.

Taken together, her military background, fundraising strength, and institutional backing position Lacore as a formidable challenger as Democrats look to expand their map in the November midterms.