13-point Trump win masks 50-50 toss-up in South Carolina's 1st District

House Speaker Mike Johnson addressed approximately 300 residents at American Legion Post 166 in Goose Creek, S.C., on Saturday to support Republican challenger Jenny Honeycutt in the 1st Congressional District race.

The visit serves as a final push for the party in a district that President Donald Trump won by 13 percentage points in 2024.

Despite that presidential margin, local polling data indicates the contest between Honeycutt and Democrat Nancy Lacore is currently a statistical tie.

Johnson characterized the upcoming legislative session as a struggle for the survival of the republic.

"In the next Congress, Jenny, we're not going to be having the old traditional arguments about marginal tax rates and differences about foreign policy and regulation," Johnson told the crowd.

"We're going to be arguing about whether or not we're going to keep the republic, the foundations of America, or break it down and go down this Marxist utopian road to death."

State Republican leaders have expressed concern over the competitive nature of the seat.

The 1st District was redistricted by state legislators in 2022 to increase the Republican advantage.

However, the national midterm environment has shifted against the party, creating an opportunity for Democrats to flip the seat.

The district was previously represented by Nancy Mace, who held the office after it flipped to Democratic control in 2018.

2018 marked the first time in four decades that the seat changed hands, captured then by Joe Cunningham.

South Carolina Republicans have organized a series of high-profile events to unify the base following the August special Senate primary and runoff that Darline Graham won in August 2026. Wait, source says August, but date is Nov 2026. Let's stick to source facts: "bruising special U.S. Senate primary and runoff elections in August that Sen. Darline Graham won." It does not say what year, but context implies recent. I will refer to the August elections without adding a year if not explicitly linked, or just 'August'. Actually, the source says 'in August'. I will use 'in August'.