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To: Interested Parties
From: Katie Smith, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 23, 2026
Subject: The Case Against Jenny Costa Honeycutt
Nancy Lacore has lived her life putting service to her country and her community over self. Over her 35 years in the United States Navy, Nancy worked her way up from serving as a helicopter pilot to a three-star admiral and the Chief of Navy Reserve. Every step along the way, Nancy learned what it means to fight for something greater than yourself and how to make the hard decisions that come along with leading more than 60,000 sailors.
After decades of active and reserve duty, which included deployments to Afghanistan and Djibouti, Nancy was unjustly removed from her command by Pete Hegseth. But Nancy refused to let Hegseth’s politically motivated attacks stop her from serving her country and her community. As she has done her entire life, Nancy answered the call to service once more – to fight for the people of South Carolina’s Lowcountry.
Working families in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District are tired of the Southern Charm level theatrics and manufactured drama—from having Nancy Mace represent them for the last six years, then narrowly avoiding a Mark Sanford comeback bid. They are ready for a serious Member of Congress focused on improving their community and making life more affordable. They are being crushed under the weight of D.C. Republicans’ reckless, cost-raising policies. Half of the state says they’re worse off financially today than they were a year ago. From pushing an expensive war of choice in Iran, to protecting price-spiking tariffs, South Carolina voters see it is D.C. Republicans that are causing higher prices at the gas pump, higher utility bills, and undue strain on the district’s hallmark industries. The Lowcountry is looking to elect a leader who will fight for them – not fight for the party bosses in Washington. Republicans like Jenny Costa Honeycutt have already proven that they are all too willing to sell out the people of the Lowcountry in exchange for a ticket to the D.C. elite class.
Voters and public servants in South Carolina already rejected D.C.’s overreach into the Lowcountry when they fought back against —and beat— Washington’s efforts to rig the midterms and redraw the state’s congressional map. This critical win paired with Nancy’s proven record of service to their community, and a political environment seeing double-digit swings towards Democrats in deep-red territory makes clear that voters are ready to reject D.C. sellouts like Jenny Costa Honeycutt and elect Nancy to bring Lowcountry values to Congress.
South Carolina Families Deserve A Representative That Will Fight For Lower Health Care Costs
When House Republicans in D.C. refused to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, they sold out South Carolina’s working families and left them with the bill. Without the ACA tax credits as a lifeline for affordable health care, South Carolina families have been forced to make the choice between paying nearly double for their health insurance or going uninsured. A majority of South Carolinians say that health care costs are too high to afford. With medical bills piling up and very few options for how to pay, some families are even risking bankruptcy just to keep up.
Jenny Costa Honeycutt supports the politicians in D.C. that created this health care crisis, and would be a rubber stamp for these disastrous policies that would rip health care away from 28,000 South Carolinians in the First District.
Nancy Lacore knows that this is unacceptable and a betrayal to the Lowcountry families who work hard just trying to make ends meet. That’s why Nancy wants to restore the Affordable Care Act Tax Credits and give this lifesaving support back to the people of South Carolina’s First Congressional District. Nancy will fight not only to reverse these Medicaid cuts but also to cap out-of-pocket expenses and expand price negotiations so that South Carolinians can keep more of their hard-earned money.
South Carolina Wants Representation Who Will Fight to Protect the Lowcountry’s Coast, Not Destroy it
South Carolina’s economy runs on its iconic waterways and coastlines. From fishing to tourism, the Lowcountry’s water access is central to both the economic success and the culture of the district. That’s why the disappearance of South Carolina’s coastline is an existential crisis, and something that will be critical to voters as they make their choice this November. The D.C. Republican agenda that Jenny Costa Honeycutt is desperate to fight for wants to sell out the Lowcountry and its coastal culture. D.C. Republicans have made clear that their offshore drilling plans matter more than the coastal economy that relies on clean beaches and water, yet Jenny Costa Honeycutt has done nothing to actually fight back against threats from D.C. that jeopardize South Carolina’s coastline.
Nancy is fighting to protect this hallmark landscape. Nancy has made this a key part of her platform since Day One of her campaign for Congress and is pushing to end the drilling off the South Carolina coast that could endanger the disappearing coastline. She’s also pushing to lower home and flood insurance costs so that the families who keep their communities running can afford to live there.
South Carolinians HATE D.C. Republicans’ Economy
Not only are South Carolina’s key economic drivers of fishing and tourism grappling with the underinvestment in the Lowcountry’s coastline, they’re being crushed under the weight of House Republicans’ failing economic agenda. Recent polling lays it out quite clearly: “A majority of South Carolina residents rate today’s economy as bad with half saying that they are not as well off financially as they were a year ago.” Jenny Costa Honeycutt wants to double down on this agenda even as South Carolina’s shrimpers have been left out in the cold, tourism has fallen, and gas prices continue to reach new heights thanks to House Republicans’ war of choice in Iran. Working South Carolinians struggling under Republicans’ economy are sick of politicians like Jenny Costa Honeycutt who are bankrolled by wealthy elites and will only serve their wealthy campaign donors.
Nancy knows that in order to revitalize South Carolina’s economy we need fighters in Congress who are going to right the ship and work on behalf of working families that make the Lowcountry run. This starts by repealing the reckless tariffs that are wrecking havoc on the local economy, investing in small businesses that fuel the tourism trade, and raising wages all to make it easier for South Carolina residents to raise their families in the Lowcountry.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
ABC4: Former Navy Admiral Nancy Lacore aims to lead SC 1st Congressional District [ABC4, 2/3/26]
“Among the newest candidates to enter the race is Democrat Nancy Lacore, a recently retired Navy admiral whose decision to run for Congress was shaped by an abrupt end to her military career and a lifelong commitment to service.
…
Most recently, LaCore served as a three-star admiral leading the Navy Reserve, overseeing approximately 60,000 sailors across the globe. She stepped into the role in Aug. 2024, expecting it to be a four-year assignment.
…
‘And that gave me an opportunity to do something new and to serve in a new way outside of uniform and to serve as a member of Congress.’”
The Bulwark: Can This Former Admiral Navigate Rough Political Seas? [The Bulwark, 4/15/26]
“I spent thirty-five years defending the Constitution—defending the freedoms and rights that it guarantees. And that’s exactly what I intend to do in Congress,” Lacore said.
Post and Courier: Mount Pleasant mayor crosses party line, endorses Democrat Nancy Lacore for local seat in Congress [Post and Courier, 4/8/26]
Post and Courier: ‘I’m not done yet:’ Fired Navy leader enters coastal SC congressional race as a Democrat [Post and Courier, 1/20/26]
Charleston City Paper: 1st District Democratic candidate snags major GOP endorsement [Post and Courier, 4/10/26]
“The race to fill gubernatorial candidate Nancy Mace’s 1st district congressional seat got its first jolt of real news this week when popular Mount Pleasant Republican Mayor Will Haynie crossed party lines to endorse Democratic candidate Nancy Lacore.
‘I know voters in Mount Pleasant want resiliency, they want conservation, and they want transportation and infrastructure,’ Haynie said at Lacore’s April 8 campaign kick-off in Charleston. ‘We will have Nancy there supporting us in these endeavors, and she will put country before party.’
‘If she was a Republican, I’d be backing her. If she was an independent, I’d be backing her. This is not a party statement.’”
Path to Victory
South Carolina Republicans stood up to D.C. pressure to redraw their congressional map in part because they know what we know: Democrats have a unique opportunity to flip this newly-open seat in November. South Carolina’s First Congressional District hugs the state’s critical coastline that Republicans are attacking, and has shown a willingness to split their ticket. Even under Republicans’ 2022 redraw of the district that Democrat Joe Cunningham won, Congressional Democrats still would have come within 1 point of winning SC-01 under the new lines in 2018. The rapidly growing current district is home to a coalition of voters that has historically swung towards Democrats: nearly one-fifth of the district’s voting-age population is Black and nearly half have attained a 4-year college degree.
With a political environment seeing double-digit swings towards Democrats in deep-red territory, and a mission-oriented veteran with bipartisan appeal as the candidate, Democrats have the momentum needed to win this seat in November. |
