BREAKING: The Post and Courier Endorses Lacore for Congress
Press Release | october 22, 2026CONTACT:Kaylie Haberstroh | kaylie@nancylacore.com
Mount Pleasant, SC – Today, following two winning debate performances, The Post and Courier editorial board endorsed retired Rear Admiral Nancy Lacore's campaign for Congress citing her focus on the issues and a willingness to be bipartisan in order to get things done for the Lowcountry. This crucial endorsement comes as early voting gets underway in South Carolina and follows a significant week for the Lacore campaign. Last week, both the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections upgraded the race for South Carolina’s First Congressional District from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican,” as Lacore continues to build a broad coalition of support that includes Independent and Republican voters across the Lowcountry. Earlier this week, the campaign released its fourth television ad of the General Election, featuring Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie, a lifelong Republican who has endorsed Lacore's campaign for South Carolina's First Congressional District.
KEY POINTS:
“When 1st Congressional District voters head to the polls, we would urge them to pick Democrat Nancy Lacore…The retired three-star admiral's 35 years of service to our country should be seen as a deciding factor in her favor.
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“Her priorities include reducing costs for families, especially on the health care front, where she supports reversing cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, lowering prescription costs and scrutinizing insurance practices for denying coverage. She also supports repealing tariffs that raise costs for small businesses and consumers..Her other priority would be to reduce corruption, including banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks while in office, a practice that has been allowed to continue far too long.
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“We see Ms. Lacore as more likely to work in a bipartisan manner…he bottom line is if voters want their leaders to work together and minimize partisan rancor, they should favor candidates whose political past shows them to be closer to the middle.
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“And voters currently anxious about inflation, Iran and the Washington swamp would find greater relief Nov. 3 by casting a vote for Ms. Lacore.”
The Post and Courier: Editorial: Lacore for the SC’s 1st Congressional District
By: The Editorial Staff
If only voters in all seven of South Carolina's congressional contests had as tough a choice facing them this fall as those living in the Lowcountry — a genuinely competitive contest between two well-qualified candidates — the state would be better off. But when 1st Congressional District voters head to the polls, we would urge them to pick Democrat Nancy Lacore.
Yes, Ms. Lacore is a relatively new resident of our state, but the lives of many who pursue a career in the U.S. military are nomadic. Not only should this not be held against her, but quite the opposite: The retired three-star admiral's 35 years of service to our country should be seen as a deciding factor in her favor.
As chief of Navy Reserve, she helped oversee almost 60,000 sailors across the globe. "I have testified before Congress and understand how decisions in Washington affect the people charged with carrying them out," she tells us. "Maybe most importantly, I worked alongside and represented sailors from all walks of life — I never knew which political party they aligned with."
Her priorities include reducing costs for families, especially on the health care front, where she supports reversing cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, lowering prescription costs and scrutinizing insurance practices for denying coverage. She also supports repealing tariffs that raise costs for small businesses and consumers.
On the international front, she opposes President Donald Trump's decision to wage war on Iran without congressional authorization, clear objectives or a plan for ending it. "Congress must reclaim its responsibility for decisions about war and peace," she says. "We need a strategy to end the war in Iran that protects our service members, supports our national security, and works with our allies to prevent further escalation. Congress must demand answers from the administration about what we are trying to achieve, what it will cost, and how we bring our service members home safely."
Her other priority would be to reduce corruption, including banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks while in office, a practice that has been allowed to continue far too long. "Public service should be about serving people, not using your position to enrich yourself," she says. "Congress needs to take concrete steps to restore that principle."
She also would work to reduce the influence of special-interest money in our elections, an encouraging sign given our too-weak laws that allow dark-money political ads that are political speech with no identifiable speaker.
We see Ms. Lacore as more likely to work in a bipartisan manner not only because of her military experience but also because she considered herself a Republican up until 2016. "Over time, I found that the party no longer reflected the values I expected from our leaders, particularly respect for our institutions, accountability, and putting the country ahead of personal political interests," she tells us.
That sounds a lot like what many South Carolina politicians said years ago to explain their decisions to change from the Democratic to Republican party. The bottom line is if voters want their leaders to work together and minimize partisan rancor, they should favor candidates whose political past shows them to be closer to the middle.
Not that we consider her opponent, Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt, a hard partisan. As we said after Ms. Lacore and Ms. Honeycutt emerged successful from their crowded primaries in June, voters in the 1st District were wise to pick credible, experienced candidates to represent both parties.
Ms. Honeycutt, an attorney, has served for eight years on Charleston County Council and is familiar with many of our region's primary concerns, such as inadequate transportation infrastructure, costly housing and flooding. She shares Ms. Lacore's general concerns about affordability and Congress's lack of engagement with the war in Iran.
But while Ms. Honeycutt certainly isn’t the yes-woman that Sen. Darline Graham has promised to be and she even assures us that she will “never blindly support a policy simply because my party does,” we simply haven’t seen anything that assures us that when the president demands a particular vote, she’ll depart from the many other Republicans who say “yes sir.”
The 1st Congressional District is the only one in South Carolina — and one of very few nationwide — that has swung from Republican to Democrat to Republican during the past decade, and the dearth of such districts is disappointing. Such political oscillations are true to the spirit of the Founding Fathers’ vision. As constitutional author (and subsequent congressman and later president) James Madison said, the House should have “an immediate dependence on, and intimate sympathy with, the people.”
That dependence and sympathy mean it's OK for a district to elect different-minded people at different times — and that competitive districts actually strengthen our democracy by providing a credible relief valve for public angst. And voters currently anxious about inflation, Iran and the Washington swamp would find greater relief Nov. 3 by casting a vote for Ms. Lacore.
About Nancy Lacore
Nancy Lacore served our nation for 35 years in the Navy, a career that began as a helicopter pilot and culminated as a three star admiral and the Chief of Navy Reserve where she was entrusted to lead more than 60,000 sailors. She spent her career juggling her military service with raising her six children, eventually moving from active duty to the Navy Reserve where she was deployed twice – to Afghanistan in 2011, and to Djibouti in 2017. When Pete Hegseth removed her from her post without explanation in 2025, she decided to continue her service to our country in Congress. A commitment to service, family, and country has shaped every chapter of Nancy’s life, and it continues to guide what comes next. Nancy wore the uniform for 35 years, but her dedication to this country and its people didn’t end when she took it off. In this next chapter, Nancy is ready to put her experience, her values, and her voice to work for every family in South Carolina’s first congressional district.
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