Nancy Lacore's SC House race
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The gist
Retired Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, fired by Pete Hegseth, won South Carolina's 1st District by about 3,300 votes.
Her win flips a Republican-held seat Democrats had considered safely red.
Background
Nancy Lacore is a retired Navy vice admiral who spent 35 years in the service, starting as a helicopter pilot and rising to chief of the Navy Reserve, overseeing more than 60,000 sailors. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed her from that post in August 2025; she said she was given no reason. She announced a Democratic run in January 2026 for South Carolina's 1st District, the seat Republican Nancy Mace had held since 2020 and gave up to run for governor. The district was redrawn in 2022 to favor Republicans, and President Trump won it by 13 points two years ago, but the Cook Political Report moved the race to a toss-up as Lacore out-fundraised her opponent.
How it unfolded
- Aug 2025Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed Nancy Lacore as chief of the Navy Reserve; she said she was given no reason.
- Jan 20, 2026Lacore, a 35-year Navy veteran, announced she was running as a Democrat for the seat held by Rep. Nancy Mace, who was running for governor.
- Jun 2026Lacore beat Coast Guard veteran Mac Deford in a runoff after a tough primary, advancing to the general election in a district gerrymandered to favor the GOP.
- Nov 3, 2026With an estimated 66 percent of votes counted, Lacore led Honeycutt 53 to 46 percent; news agencies had not yet called the race.
- Nov 3, 2026Lacore declared victory at her Mount Pleasant watch party; Decision Desk HQ projected her the winner at 1:39 a.m. Wednesday.
- Nov 4, 2026With about 98 percent counted, Lacore led by roughly 0.7 points, fewer than 2,400 votes, per unofficial results; a Dorchester County technical issue forced ballots to be rescanned.
- Nov 4, 2026Honeycutt emailed Lacore early in the morning conceding and congratulating her, with the camps about one point and 3,308 votes apart.
- Nov 4, 2026As of 11:35 a.m. Wednesday, the Associated Press showed Lacore ahead by roughly 3,000 votes with 99 percent of precincts counted; results remained unofficial.
Who’s saying what
- Support
- Lacore said the latest Dorchester County totals expanded her lead past the automatic-recount margin and that she is honored to be the next congresswoman from the district.
- Caution
- Lacore said it was a hard night but a victory, and that she welcomes a recount to reconfirm the result.
- Party
- Honeycutt said the campaign was never about her but about the Lowcountry, and thanked the hundreds of thousands who voted for her.
Still unverified
A recount was expected before results are officially certified; under South Carolina law a recount is required when the margin is 1% or less unless the losing candidate waives it in writing. Results remained unofficial as of Wednesday.