Navy admiral fired by Hegseth advances in South Carolina Democratic House primary

Nancy Lacore, ousted by Pete Hegseth last year, heads to a runoff in race for Nancy Mace’s seat A three-star navy rear-admiral fired by Pete Hegseth last year in the defense secretary’s purge of senior US military officials advanced to a Democratic runoff in a closely watched congressional race in South Carolina. Nancy Lacore, who served 35 years in the navy, was chief of the navy reserve when she was ousted by Hegseth in August. She will contest a 23 June runoff against Mac Deford, a US Coast Guard veteran, for the Democratic nomination for South Carolina’s first congressional district in November’s midterm election. The seat is currently held by the Republican Nancy Mace, who chose to forgo seeking re-election to focus on her failed challenge for governor. The eventual Democratic candidate faces an uphill battle in a district Mace won by double digits in each of the last two elections. Lacore is backed by several veterans’ groups, and Emilys List, which supports Democratic pro-choice candidates running for office. She raised $500,000 in her first two weeks as a candidate, and more than $1.4m through late May, according to a New York Times analysis of federal campaign finance reco