Navy admiral fired in Hegseth purge wins Democratic runoff: ‘Can’t sit on the sidelines’

In August 2025, Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore was one of several top military officials fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as part of his leadership purge at the Pentagon. On Tuesday, less than a year later, Lacore became the Democratic nominee for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.

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The former Navy officer told MS NOW’s Jen Psaki that after her “abrupt” firing last year, she decided she could not “sit on the sidelines.”

“I was one year into what is normally a four-year job [and] was notified that I was being relieved, effective immediately,” Lacore recalled. “I struggled to figure out what was next for me. But the one thing I couldn’t shake was this feeling that I wasn’t done serving.”

“I thought I was going to be in uniform serving for three more years, and decided there’s too much at risk,” she continued. “I can’t sit on the sidelines. I can serve differently. And then I launched his campaign for Congress in January.”

South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District is currently represented by Republican Nancy Mace, who overcame her Democratic challenger by more than 16 percentage points in 2024 to win re-election. She is not seeking to keep her seat this year and lost her bid for governor in the state last month.