A retired U.S. Navy admiral, removed by the Pentagon in 2025, has won a Republican-held House seat representing South Carolina.
Retired Vice Admiral Democrat Nancy Lacore won 161,878, or 49.65 percent, of the votes in the race to represent South Carolina’s First Congressional District, with 100 percent of precincts reporting, according to midterm election results from the state on Nov. 4.
Lacore triumphed over Republican nominee Jenny Costa Honeycutt, a lawyer who earned 48.64 percent of the vote.
“What a hard night. But what a victory,” Lacore said at a watch party. “You know there will be a recount, and I welcome it to just reconfirm what we already know.”
Honeycutt said in a statement that she was grateful to family, friends, and supporters.
“This campaign has never been about me. It has always been about the Lowcountry,” she said. “My prayers now are for the Lowcountry, the State of South Carolina, and our nation.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who currently represents the district, opted to run in South Carolina’s gubernatorial race rather than another term in the seat. She lost in the Republican gubernatorial primary. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who advanced from the primary, went on to win the election, according to the unofficial results from the state.
Both Lacore and Honeycutt advanced to the general election after winning primary runoffs.
Lacore’s biography says she served in the Navy for 35 years, deployed twice, and led 60,000 sailors.
She was the head of the Navy Reserve when she was removed in 2025 by War Secretary Pete Hegseth, a move she said was without cause. She retired soon after.
The Department of War did not return a request for comment by the time of publication.
The win was one of many confirmed or projected for Democrats in the midterms. The party has flipped both chambers of Congress.
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