Retired Navy Admiral Lacore and Attorney Deford Advance to Democratic Runoff for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District
Nancy Lacore, a retired Navy vice admiral fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and local attorney Mac Deford advanced to a June 23 runoff in the Democratic primary for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District after no candidate secured 50% of the vote. The seat became vacant when Republican Rep. Nancy Mace announced her run for governor. The district has been held by Republicans for most of the past 40 years, making the Democratic nominee's path to victory challenging in this traditionally conservative area.
In a crowded Democratic primary for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District, retired Navy Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore and local attorney Mac Deford emerged as the top two candidates, triggering a runoff election scheduled for June 23. Lacore, who served 35 years in the Navy and rose to three-star admiral status, was dismissed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in August 2025 as part of broader Pentagon reforms; she has characterized her firing as "without cause" and is leveraging her military background and removal as central campaign themes. Deford, who served as Associate General Counsel for the Town of Mount Pleasant, is positioning himself as a pragmatic public servant with experience managing crises and federal funding. The vacancy arose when Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, a political maverick who has occasionally broken with her party, announced her gubernatorial campaign. The district has been solidly Republican since 1981, with the exception of Democrat Joe Cunningham's tenure from 2019 to 2021, making the Democratic nominee's general election prospects difficult despite recent fundraising efforts by both candidates.
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Navy admiral fired by Hegseth and local attorney advance to runoff in Dem primary to replace Nancy Mace
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