{"id":818,"date":"2026-07-01T09:11:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T09:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=818"},"modified":"2026-07-01T09:11:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T09:11:20","slug":"mark-kelly-backs-another-hegseth-foe-in-latest-endorsement-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=818","title":{"rendered":"Mark Kelly Backs Another Hegseth Foe In Latest Endorsement Push"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s attacks have boosted Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly\u2019s profile and war chest. Now he will use both to back Nancy Lacore, a former vice admiral who\u2019s running for Congress after Hegseth fired her.<\/p>\n

Read more Mike Johnson Can\u2019t Get Control of the House<\/a><\/p>\n

Kelly\u2019s political operation plans to announce Wednesday that it will support Lacore among 10 military veteran candidates in competitive House races, highlighting the Arizona senator\u2019s growing national influence that has fueled speculation about a potential 2028 White House run.<\/p>\n

The new endorsements also unite two veterans who say they have become targets of the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to politicize the military.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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,\u201d Lacore told NOTUS. \u201cYet we have both been caught up in some political games, thanks to Pete Hegseth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly, a former Navy pilot and astronaut, is locked in a high-profile legal and political battle<\/u><\/span> with Hegseth after he and other lawmakers urged troops to refuse unlawful orders. Hegseth responded by issuing a censure and threatening to demote Kelly\u2019s retired rank and cut his pension.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenator Kelly is proud to support these battle-tested leaders because they bring the grit and service-oriented perspective that Congress needs right now,\u201d Marisol Samayoa, a Kelly spokesperson, said in a statement to NOTUS.<\/p>\n

His political team said Kelly\u2019s campaign will donate $2,500 to each candidate, the maximum amount his committee can give to a House campaign, along with providing fundraising support from Kelly\u2019s donor network.<\/p>\n

Lacore, the former chief of the Navy Reserve, won the Democratic primary in South Carolina\u2019s 1st Congressional District after Hegseth fired her last year in his purge of a dozen senior military officers.<\/p>\n

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace didn\u2019t seek reelection in order to focus on her failed gubernatorial bid, leaving behind a district the Cook Political Report moved<\/u><\/span> from \u201csolid Republican\u201d to \u201clean Republican.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Michael Bennet Loses His Bid for Governor<\/a><\/p>\n

For Lacore, Kelly\u2019s endorsement offers validation from one of the country\u2019s most prominent veteran-politicians as she tries to win over moderate Republicans and independents in a district with one of the country\u2019s largest military communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way he comes across, it\u2019s really more about service,\u201d she said. \u201cHe hasn\u2019t gotten lost in the political shenanigans that we see in D.C. so often. And frankly, everyone loves an astronaut.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 35 years in uniform, Lacore said her career ended abruptly when she was called into a senior officer\u2019s office and informed Hegseth had ordered her firing. \u201cThere was no reason given,\u201d she said, and within an hour, she had packed her belongings and left the Pentagon for good.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of drama surrounding the Pentagon, and it\u2019s touched me, and it\u2019s touched Senator Kelly,\u201d Lacore said. \u201cI think exactly what people don\u2019t want is this political drama.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond Lacore, Kelly has endorsed Democrats in more than two dozen House and statewide battleground races and contributed more than $1 million in direct contributions<\/u><\/span> to candidates and committees. He plans to campaign this fall for Democrats, including Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia and Roy Cooper, the former governor running for Senate in North Carolina.<\/p>\n

In addition to Lacore, Kelly also will endorse Jessica Killin in Colorado\u2019s 5th Congressional District, Eileen Laubacher in Colorado\u2019s 4th, Bale Dalton in Florida\u2019s 7th, Darren McAuley in Florida\u2019s 12th, Leela Gray in Florida\u2019s 13th, Zach Dembo in Kentucky\u2019s 6th, Kristina Knickerbocker in Ohio\u2019s 10th, Rebecca Bennett in New Jersey\u2019s 7th and Cait Conley in New York\u2019s 17th.<\/p>\n

Kelly has said he is seriously considering a 2028 presidential run, but Samayoa pushed back on the suggestion that all the political activity is meant to set the stage for that effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just wants to be able to utilize whatever resources he can \u2014 goodwill, his own name and bipartisan brand \u2014 to do everything to make sure that we win back majorities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump Discloses More Than $1.1 Billion In Crypto Earnings<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The senator will deploy his cash and clout to back 10 military veterans, including a former Navy officer fired by the defense secretary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-election"],"yoast_head":"\nMark Kelly Backs Another Hegseth Foe In Latest Endorsement Push - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=818\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mark Kelly Backs Another Hegseth Foe In Latest Endorsement Push - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The senator will deploy his cash and clout to back 10 military veterans, including a former Navy officer fired by the defense secretary.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=818\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-01T09:11:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=818#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=818\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"Mark Kelly Backs Another Hegseth Foe In Latest Endorsement Push\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-01T09:11:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=818\"},\"wordCount\":705,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=818#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f92a2afe86c86480022d7faa084fef1a-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"2026 Election\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=818#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=818\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=818\",\"name\":\"Mark Kelly Backs Another Hegseth Foe In Latest Endorsement Push - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=818#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=818#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f92a2afe86c86480022d7faa084fef1a-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-01T09:11:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=818#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=818\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=818#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f92a2afe86c86480022d7faa084fef1a-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f92a2afe86c86480022d7faa084fef1a-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"UNITED STATES - JUNE 17: Sen. 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