In a dramatic turn from the Pentagon to the campaign trail, three-star Admiral Nancy Lacore is launching a bid for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District—months after being pushed out of her post by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Lacore, a 35-year Navy veteran who rose from helicopter pilot to Chief of Navy Reserve, announced her Democratic run on 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 wrote on X.
Her removal wasn’t an isolated move. ABC News reported that Rear Admiral Milton Sands and Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse were also forced out around the same period.
The Charleston-based district remains solidly Republican on paper, but Democrats see a possible opening. Party insiders have pointed to the 2018 midterms, when Democrat Joe Cunningham flipped the seat during a wave election. Lacore is entering a crowded Democratic primary and has already secured endorsements from EMILYs List and The Bench.
Republicans, meanwhile, are building their own field, including Air Force veteran Alex Pelbath, who flew the final U.S. flight out of Kabul in 2021.
