Navy Admiral Fired in Hegseth Purge Advances to Democratic Runoff in South Carolina

Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, the former chief of the Navy Reserve who was dismissed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last year, advanced Tuesday to a Democratic runoff in South Carolina's closely watched 1st Congressional District race.

Lacore, a 35-year Navy veteran, will face Coast Guard veteran Mac Deford in a June 23 runoff for the Democratic nomination. The winner will advance to the November general election for a seat currently held by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who did not seek reelection after an unsuccessful bid for governor.

Lacore was removed from her post in August as part of a broader series of personnel changes carried out by Hegseth at the Pentagon. Her dismissal came on the same day that Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, then director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was fired.

The Pentagon did not publicly explain Lacore's removal through Kruse's dismissal followed controversy surrounding a preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency assessment that concluded U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities had set back Tehran's nuclear program by only a few months, contradicting President Donald Trump's assertion that the sites had been "obliterated."

Lacore's firing occurred amid a broader effort by Hegseth to reshape the senior military leadership. Since taking office, he has overseen the removal or reassignment of numerous high-ranking officers, including National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh, NATO representative Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield and several senior Navy leaders.

Earlier this month, The Guardian reported that Hegseth personally removed several women and Black officers from a Navy promotion list, resulting in a slate that was overwhelmingly white and entirely male. Pentagon officials denied that race or gender played any role in the decisions.

Hegseth has argued that military promotions should be based solely on merit. "For too long, we've promoted too many uniform leaders for the wrong reasons — based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on historic so-called firsts," he said at a military commanders conference last year.

When launching her congressional campaign in January, Lacore framed her candidacy as a continuation of public service. "I still have more to give, more to fight for, more work to do — and I am not done serving," she wrote on X.