Service, honor and integrity matter—but that's not what our political leaders believe
In a South Carolina district that has belonged to Republicans for nearly half a century, two Democrats — a fired Navy admiral and a small-town attorney — have earned the right to compete for a seat made suddenly vacant by an incumbent's ambitions. The contest asks whether a moment of institutional disruption, embodied by a three-star officer dismissed under political circumstances, can move voters in a place where such movements rarely take hold. History counsels patience; the opening, however narrow, is real.
- A crowded Democratic primary produced no outright winner, forcing a June 23 runoff between retired Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore and Mount Pleasant attorney Mac Deford in a district Republicans have dominated since 1981.
- Lacore is weaponizing her own termination — fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth alongside two other senior military officers in a single day — as proof that the current administration has abandoned the values of service and integrity.
- Deford counters with quiet pragmatism, pointing to years of local governance work rather than national grievance, though his fundraising of $547,800 trails Lacore's $1.4 million significantly.
- The seat only opened because Rep. Nancy Mace chose to chase the governorship, leaving behind a district where she won with 58% of the vote just two years ago — a structural wall either Democrat must somehow scale.
- The last Democrat to hold this seat served a single term ending in 2021, making the runoff winner's path to November less a question of momentum and more a test of whether disruption, from any direction, can rewrite a deeply ingrained political map.
Nancy Lacore, a retired three-star Navy admiral, advanced to a Democratic runoff in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District on Tuesday with an unusual campaign credential: she was fired by Pete Hegseth, and she is running on it. Lacore and local attorney Mac Deford will face each other on June 23 after neither cleared the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright.
The race exists because Rep. Nancy Mace chose to pursue the governorship rather than seek re-election, leaving behind a seat she won with 58 percent of the vote in 2024. The district has been Republican-held since 1981, interrupted only by Democrat Joe Cunningham's single term from 2019 to 2021, making the structural challenge for either Democrat considerable.
Lacore spent 35 years as a Navy pilot before rising to vice admiral, and her August 2025 termination — part of a broader Pentagon reshaping that also removed two other senior officers the same day — has become the spine of her campaign. She frames the dismissal as evidence of a political leadership that has abandoned the values of service and integrity she spent her career upholding. Her fundraising reflects the national attention her story has drawn: $1.4 million through late May.
Deford is running a quieter race. The Mount Pleasant attorney points to his years as the town's Associate General Counsel and his role guiding the community through the pandemic, a housing initiative, and federal funding efforts. 'This is home,' he has said, positioning himself as a servant rather than a crusader. His $547,800 raised puts him at a significant financial disadvantage heading into the runoff.
Whether Lacore's military record and high-profile dismissal can overcome four decades of Republican dominance is the question the June 23 contest will begin — but not finish — answering.
Nancy Lacore, a retired three-star Navy admiral, emerged from a crowded Democratic primary in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District on Tuesday evening with a singular advantage: she was fired by Pete Hegseth, and she's running on it.
Lacore and Mac Deford, a local attorney, advanced to a runoff scheduled for June 23 after neither candidate secured the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright. The race exists because Rep. Nancy Mace, the district's Republican incumbent, announced her intention to run for governor instead. Mace, known for her willingness to defy party orthodoxy—she voted to remove Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker in 2023 and pushed for the release of the Epstein Files—said she wanted to bring that same disruptive energy to state politics. "South Carolina needs a governor who will drag the truth into sunlight and flip the tables," she said during her announcement.
The vacancy opens a rare window in a district that has been reliably Republican for four decades. Since 1981, the GOP has held the seat continuously except for a two-year interruption when Democrat Joe Cunningham served from 2019 to 2021. Mace herself won re-election in 2024 with 58.2 percent of the vote against Democratic businessman Michael Moore. For either Democrat advancing to the runoff, the math is daunting.
Lacore is betting that her military pedigree and her removal from office can overcome that structural disadvantage. She spent 35 years as a Navy pilot and rose to vice admiral before Hegseth terminated her on August 22, 2025, a decision she has called "without cause." Her firing came as part of the Trump administration's broader effort to reshape the Defense Department; on the same day, Lt. Gen. Kennedy Kruse, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and Rear Adm. Milton Sands, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, were also relieved of their duties. In campaign materials, Lacore frames her dismissal as evidence that political leaders have abandoned the values she spent her career defending. "For 35 years, I served in the United States Navy with the belief that service, honor and integrity matter; that these are the qualities of true leaders," she said in a campaign video. "But it's not what our political leaders believe today." As of late May, she had raised $1.4 million.
Deford, her runoff opponent, is taking a different approach. The Mount Pleasant attorney positioned himself as a pragmatic servant rather than a crusader, pointing to his work as the town's Associate General Counsel and his role navigating the community through the COVID-19 pandemic, a housing initiative, and federal funding applications. "This isn't a political stop for me. This is home and I want to serve as your next representative in Washington," he said in his campaign video. His fundraising totaled $547,800 through late May, substantially less than Lacore's.
The winner of the June 23 runoff will face the Republican nominee in a general election where the district's recent voting patterns suggest an uphill climb. Yet Mace's departure to pursue higher office has created an opening that Democrats have not had in this corner of South Carolina in a generation. Whether Lacore's military record and her high-profile dismissal by a controversial defense secretary will be enough to flip a seat held by Republicans since before most voters were born remains the question the runoff will begin to answer.
Notable Quotes
For 35 years, I served in the United States Navy with the belief that service, honor and integrity matter; that these are the qualities of true leaders. But it's not what our political leaders believe today.— Nancy Lacore, in campaign video
South Carolina needs a governor who will drag the truth into sunlight and flip the tables.— Rep. Nancy Mace, announcing her run for governor
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Lacore's firing by Hegseth matter so much to her campaign? Isn't that just a personnel decision?
It's the story she's telling about what happened to the military itself. She's saying that when you stand for integrity and honor, this administration removes you. That resonates differently in a military-heavy district than it would elsewhere.
But she's running as a Democrat in a Republican district. Doesn't the firing actually hurt her with voters who support Hegseth?
Probably with some. But she's not trying to win over Hegseth voters. She's trying to energize Democrats and persuade independents who might see her removal as overreach. The firing gives her credibility as someone who wasn't a politician first.
What about Deford? Why didn't he advance on the same message?
He's running a different race. He's saying "I know how to get things done locally," not "I was wronged by the administration." It's competence versus principle. In a primary, principle sometimes wins.
Is this district actually winnable for a Democrat?
It's very hard. Republicans have held it for 40 years except for one two-year break. Mace won by 17 points in 2024. But Mace leaving creates an opening—there's no incumbent to defend. The Republican nominee will be starting from scratch too.
So Lacore's real opponent isn't Deford. It's the Republican she'll face in November.
Exactly. The runoff is just the first test. The real race is whether a Democrat can win a seat that's been red for a generation. Her military background and her firing story are her best tools for that.