Mark Kelly endorses vice admiral ousted by Hegseth running for Congress

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Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) on Wednesday endorsed Democrat Nancy Lacore, a three-star admiral that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired without cause last year, who is now running for Congress.

Lacore, the 16th Chief of Navy Reserve, is running to represent South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District in the House and, if elected, will replace Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination in this year’s South Carolina governor’s race instead of seeking reelection.

Similar to Lacore, Kelly has tussled with Hegseth and President Trump over a video filmed last year, where he and five other lawmakers told service members not to follow illegal orders.

Kelly, a retired Navy captain, was initially issued a formal letter of censure from Hegseth and faced potential military demotion and pension cuts.

However, a federal judge blocked the action in court.

“The one thing we share is we both consider public service to be about delivering results to people and about the Constitution, not about political games,” Lacore told NOTUS, the digital news outlet that first reported Kelly’s endorsement of the South Carolina House race.

“Yet we have both been caught up in some political games, thanks to Pete Hegseth,” she added.

Lacore won her primary earlier this month, with heavy support from PACs including EMILY’s List, VoteVets and New Politics.

Kelly’s support for her comes as Democratic lawmakers are looking to regain power in the House and Senate through midterm elections.

Lacore’s race in the Palmetto State was ranked likely Republican by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in mid-June after a previous solidly Republican rating, signaling a potential shift in voters across the district.

The Arizona senator has pledged a $2,500 campaign donation to 10 military veterans he’s endorsed, according to NOTUS.

“Veterans understand what it means to put country before self,” Kelly wrote in an endorsement post on Instagram backing former Navy helicopter pilot and NASA chief of staff Bale Dalton and third generation veteran Leela Gray in Florida, and Navy JAG Officer Zach Dembo in Kentucky, among others.

“These leaders did it during their time in service, and now they’re answering the call again to fight for their communities in Congress. I’m proud to endorse them,” he added.

He’s already contributed more than $1 million to candidates he’s backing in more than a dozen House and statewide races, per the outlet.

Some of his donations have supported former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D) Senate campaign in the Tar Heel State and Democrat Sherrod Brown’s race to return to the upper chamber for Ohio.

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