Navy admiral fired by Hegseth flips Mace’s South Carolina seat

Democrat Nancy Lacore, a former Navy Admiral who was fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is projected to win in the traditionally red House district in South Carolina against Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt, according to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ).

Nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report shifted the race for Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R) 1st District seat from “lean Republican” to a “toss-up,” as Lacore out-fundraised Honeycutt, a Charleston County Council member. Mace unsuccessfully ran for governor in the Palmetto State earlier this year.

The Democrat notched just under 50 percent of the vote, while Honeycutt trailed by over 48 percent, with all votes tallied as of early Wednesday.

On the campaign trail, Lacore criticized Hegseth’s management of the Pentagon and painted him as the public face of the increasingly unpopular Iran war, which resonated with voters in a district President Trump won by 13 percentage points two years ago.

Lacore, who spent more than three decades in the Navy, started as a helicopter pilot and rose through the ranks to eventually become the chief of Navy Reserve, where she oversaw more than 60,000 sailors.

She completed two deployments and has used her defense-focused background to connect with voters wary of Hegseth’s handling of the Defense Department.

This summer, Lacore was locked in a tough primary race with Democrat Mac Deford, eventually beating the Coast Guard veteran in a June runoff and advancing to the general election in a district that was recently gerrymandered to favor the GOP.