Fired Admiral Flips GOP Seat
Democrat Nancy Lacore, a retired Navy vice admiral removed from her command by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is projected to win South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. Decision Desk HQ called the race for Lacore over Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt, putting a GOP-held House seat in Democratic hands.
Lacore led with 49.69 percent of the vote to Honeycutt’s 48.67 percent in the latest Decision Desk HQ tally, a difference of 3,308 votes. Libertarian Bill Reeside received 1.64 percent. President Donald Trump carried the same coastal district by about 13 points in 2024.
An open seat gave Democrats a chance
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace left the seat open when she ran for governor. Her bid ended in the Republican primary, and Honeycutt, a Charleston County Council member, went on to carry the GOP banner in the general election with Trump’s endorsement.
By the final stretch, the race was competitive enough for the Cook Political Report to move it from “Lean Republican” to “Toss Up.” Lacore also had a sizable fundraising advantage. Campaign finance reports through Oct. 14 showed that she had raised about $4.9 million, compared with about $1.3 million for Honeycutt.
The returns showed how close the contest was across the district. Honeycutt led in Beaufort County, while Lacore built margins in the district’s portions of Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties. Those gains helped Lacore pull ahead districtwide by just over one percentage point.
Lacore made her Navy career central to the campaign
Lacore spent 35 years in the Navy, starting as a helicopter pilot and rising to the rank of vice admiral. She deployed to Afghanistan and Djibouti and eventually became chief of the Navy Reserve, where she was responsible for more than 60,000 sailors, according to her campaign. Hegseth removed her from that post in 2025. Lacore said she was given no reason for the decision.
She drew on that experience during the campaign to criticize Hegseth’s leadership of the Pentagon and his role in the administration’s handling of the war with Iran. Before facing Honeycutt, Lacore had to win a competitive Democratic primary of her own, defeating Coast Guard veteran Mac Deford in a June runoff.
