Adam Hamawy heads to Congress after New Jersey win

Dr. Adam Hamawy, a surgeon who gained national attention for treating patients in Gaza and for his pro-Palestine activism, won the Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 12th District on Tuesday and is poised to replace retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman in Novem

By the time the votes settled in New Jersey’s 12th District, Dr. Adam Hamawy’s path to Congress looked much clearer than it did when the campaign began—at least for the voters who decided he belonged on the November ballot.

Hamawy won a crowded Democratic primary in southern New Jersey on Tuesday, in a seat that has long leaned blue. He is all but certain to be elected in November because the district is solidly Democratic and the seat is open following the retirement of progressive Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.

The race was big, complicated, and crowded—13 candidates in total. As of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night, Hamawy was winning with roughly 28% of the vote. The victory also capped a campaign that Democrats in the district framed as a test of whether the party would follow its most progressive voters. and whether the usual influence of major pro-Israel groups could be resisted.

In a speech celebrating his win. Hamawy told supporters. “In every corner of this district. we built a movement of people who were fed up. ” adding. “Fed up with a government that serves the billionaires and corporations. but never us. Fed up with an economy where families work hard and still can’t make ends meet. Fed up with masked thugs abducting our neighbors. And fed up with a system that funds genocide while trapping us in debt just to get medical care.”.

Hamawy’s supporters leaned heavily on his personal story and his medical background. Before he became a national figure in the pro-Palestine movement. he built a record that included time in the Army National Guard as a combat trauma surgeon—when he saved the life of Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq—and work at Ground Zero in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

That blend of service and activism helped him secure endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and basically every other leading progressive elected official and group. Yet even with strong backing, the way he won points to the pressure forming inside the Democratic coalition.

Campaign finance and field dynamics mattered. Hamawy benefited from a divided field of more moderate candidates, and from $2 million in spending from American Priorities, a super PAC that backs pro-Palestinian candidates.

The backlash began immediately after the result.

Republicans and pro-Israel groups launched attacks tying Hamawy to the so-called “Blind Sheikh. ” a figure convicted in connection with the 1995 bombing of the World Trade Center. and to a medical charity Hamawy volunteered with during the Bosnian genocide that was later accused of being a front for Al-Qaeda. Hamawy downplayed both attacks. saying his ties to the Sheikh were minimal and pointing out that the group he worked for was the object of praise from the international community at the time.

The fight over his background is unlikely to cool down now that he has the party’s nomination.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) wrote on social media on Tuesday night. “How in the hell has a defense witness in the 1993 WTC bombing. with ties to Al-Qaeda been nominated by the Democrats to serve in Congress?” He added. “If elected in November. Congress should fully investigate his ties to terrorist organizations and determine whether he is fit to serve.”.

Hamawy’s supporters argue voters weighed his longer record—and the lived experience behind his decision to run—for more than the campaign’s most explosive claims.

The turning point, in his telling, came from what he witnessed in Gaza. While he was volunteering at a hospital there in 2025. Israel seized a nearby border crossing. trapping him and his colleagues in the hospital for more than a week. They were allowed to leave only after Duckworth intervened with then-President Joe Biden. After returning to the United States. Hamawy traveled to Congress to lobby for the end of what he viewed as a genocide—but found many members uninterested in what he had to say.

That experience, Hamawy has said, helped push him toward running.

After the primary. American Priorities framed the win as proof Democrats can’t be afraid to follow their voters even when major interests push the opposite direction. The group said, “Dr. Hamawy spoke openly about these issues in one of the most closely watched Democratic primaries in the country. despite opposition from AIPAC and party leaders.” It added. “Voters in Central Jersey showed they were listening. AIPAC’s spending is not unbeatable. The candidates. networks. and credibility built through investments like this will shape what comes next. including a 2028 presidential primary where these issues will be front and center.”.

The super PAC also pointed to polling it said shows Democratic voters oppose sending money to Israel and believe the country is committing a genocide in Gaza.

The sequence of this campaign is hard to miss: Hamawy’s medical history and activist record drove support in a crowded primary. while the sharper GOP attacks on his affiliations followed—setting up what voters will now watch in a general election that’s poised to become less about one district and more about the direction of the Democratic Party on Israel-Palestine.

Hamawy is heading to Washington in November with the retirement of Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman opening the seat. and with Republicans already pressing for investigations that he says do not reflect his actual connections. Whatever voters decide next. the political message is already being fought in full view: not just whether Hamawy wins. but what kind of policy and rhetoric the next Congress will have to face.

Adam Hamawy New Jersey 12th District Democratic primary Bonnie Watson Coleman Tammy Duckworth Bernie Sanders Joe Biden Gaza Israel Palestine pro-Palestinian AIPAC American Priorities Blind Sheikh World Trade Center bombing