How did you get us there?

Yeah, that's a great question and a great assessment.

Yeah, I mean, I kind of just landed here, you know, not really by my own timeline.

Obviously, you know, this was our plan was to retire to this district.

But when we picked this place as our retirement, I wasn't thinking about running for politics.

So Not on my radar at all, but when I got here and realized we had an open seat and listened to some folks who knew what they were talking about in the political realm, I decided that I could turn around this end to my service and just put on a different way of serving and launch this campaign.

And I think I'm right for the district.

What does the experience of having actually served in uniform or served in combat bring to the job?

If you were to come here to Washington, what role should Congress begin to play in 2027? What role can Congress begin to play in 2027 if Democrats were to take the majority?

Well, we really need to make sure that Congress is the one that is sending our servicemen and women into war.

That's what the bottom line is in this.

And I think if that were the case and Congress had been consulted, I don't believe that we would have gotten into this war of choice with Iran.

And it needs to end.

It's very concerning to me that he is now tying potential future strikes to a political calendar instead of actual national security objectives, like saying, oh, we might strike them again after the midterms.

That's not how this should be done.

When you're having conversations with potential constituents who are seeking whether to vote for you or not, what is your answer in terms of how you can mitigate this sort of hurt that this war is causing for Americans?

Walk us through your plans to eventually come south and how that was expedited essentially.

Yeah.

I w- I took that job as a three-star in August of 2024, and that was a four-year job.

So we knew I had a retirement in August of 2028, and we decided to buy the home that we want- that we bought, uh, i- in the place that we wanted, which was down here in the Lowcountry.

Um, my daughter lived down here.

She still does, her and her husband, so that was a big draw for us.

We just love the environment here.

But when you hear folks say, "Well, Iran was so close to getting a nuclear weapon," do you think that was as, as realistic as, as they make it out to seem, or do you think that was maybe more of an empty threat and a justification for this war?

You'll have two minutes for your opening statement.

Good evening.

I'm Nancy Lacore.

I'm a 35-year Navy veteran.

I spent my life in service to our country.

Eventually, I became Chief of Navy Reserve, responsible for almost 60,000 sailors.

In this role, I worked with Congress.

Ms. LaCour, you have two minutes for your final statements.

What motivated you to make this decision? I mean, did you grow up saying, "Gee, I wanna go up, I wanna go up, I wanna be a congressperson"? Or what prompted you to, to do this?

No.

No, this was, this was never on, uh, on the horizon for me, not something I ever considered.

And, and honestly, I think if I had considered it and I was choosing a retirement spot, I don't-- I wouldn't have probably chosen, [chuckles] you know, my R plus six district to run in.

But, um, you know, it just...

When my service came to an end, it was three years sooner than I anticipated, you know, retiring from the Navy, and I just felt like I was really...

You know, service has been my life, and this is just another way to serve.

How's that going?

Yeah.

Yeah.

It was literally one year to the day that I had taken command of Navy Reserve.

It came out of nowhere.

There was no warning.

I was called down to the senior four-star Navy officer's office, and he had, you know, tears in his eyes.

And he said, "The secretary has asked me to relieve you, effective immediately." And I paused, and I was like, "Is there a reason?" And he said, "No, there was no reason given." And within an hour, I was out of the Pentagon, last time I wore a uniform.

What do you hear from people about how the military is being run under Secretary Hegseth?

What made you decide to run for office?

Well, the answer is pretty simple.

Uh, I love our country, and that's why I'm running for Congress.

I really- it's not something I thought I would be doing, particularly not now, so soon after retiring from the Navy, but I feel like I need to do it.

Um, there's families all across this country that are having to make impossible choices every day.

Do they pay their healthcare premiums, or do they put food on the table? And there are people who serve our country, people who serve our communities, who can't make ends meet.

I think of my own daughter, who's in law enforcement, who has to work overtime just to pay her bills.

What do you say? Do you even bother with that question?