Three-star Admiral Nancy Lacore is making a high-stakes return to the spotlight, launching a Democratic run for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District after she says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ousted her from her post last year.
Lacore, a 35-year Navy veteran who rose from helicopter pilot to Chief of Navy Reserve, announced her campaign Tuesday with a blunt, defiant message.
“After decades of service to our country, a career that started as a Navy pilot and finished as a three-star admiral, I was removed from my position without cause. I still have more to give, more to fight for, more work to do — and I am not done serving,” she declared on X.
Lacore’s removal was part of a broader shake-up. Rear Admiral Milton Sands and Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse were also pushed out around the same time, ABC News reported.
The Charleston-based district remains solidly Republican on paper, but Democrats believe the seat can be contested under the right conditions. They point to 2018, when Democrat Joe Cunningham flipped the district during a wave election. Lacore has already secured endorsements from EMILYs List and The Bench as she enters a packed Democratic primary.
Republicans, meanwhile, are assembling their own roster of contenders—including Air Force veteran Alex Pelbath, who piloted the final U.S. flight out of Kabul in 2021.
