Adam Hamawy, a retired US Army fight surgeon and sharp Israel critic, will win the crowded Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, NCS’s Decision Desk projects.
Hamawy led a discipline of roughly a dozen Democrats, together with some state and native elected officers, in the solidly blue seat presently held by retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman. He was in a position to consolidate assist from progressives and was boosted by American Priorities, a pro-Palestinian tremendous PAC that spent greater than $1.5 million supporting his marketing campaign.
“We were told that an outsider couldn’t win. That we couldn’t compete. Well, I think we competed,” Hamawy, who’s Muslim and immigrated to the US from Egypt as a child, instructed supporters Tuesday night time, in line with a transcript of his remarks shared by his marketing campaign. “Together, we made it clear you never need to ask for permission to fight for justice. In every corner of this district, we built a movement of people who were fed up.”
Hamawy will face Republican Gregg Mele, who ran unopposed in his celebration’s primary, in the final election in November.
His win comes after critics resurfaced his previous affiliation with Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind, Egyptian-born cleric who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in a case associated to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Hamawy was referred to as as a protection witness in the trial.
In an announcement, a marketing campaign spokesperson stated Hamawy “condemns that man’s violent rhetoric and actions, and all violence, hatred, and terrorism — and he will always,” including that “these bad-faith, guilt-by-association attacks on Muslim and Arab candidates are nothing new in our politics.”
“As a witness, he performed his civic and legal duty to testify truthfully under oath and contribute to the system of laws and justice he defended while serving our country in the Army. At the time, the man in question was one of very few religious figures in what was then a very small Muslim community in New Jersey – he saw him speak in religious settings in his early 20s,” the spokesperson stated, noting Hamawy didn’t have contact with Abdel-Rahman following his arrest.
After Hamawy was projected the winner, Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, questioned why Democrats nominated “a defense witness in the 1993 WTC bombing.”
“If elected in November, Congress should fully investigate his ties to terrorist organizations and determine whether he is fit to serve,” Lawler wrote on X.
Hamawy’s allies framed his win as a rebuke of the assaults leveled in opposition to him in the course of the primary and an endorsement of progressive politics.
“Dr. Hamawy won this race the old-fashioned way by outworking his opponents, out-organizing the establishment, and building the progressive coalition needed to deliver his people-first vision to New Jersey working families,” Alexandra Rojas, the chief director of Justice Democrats, a gaggle that works to elect Democrats who don’t settle for cash from company PACs, stated in an announcement.
Hamawy was among the many most progressive candidates in the race — he helps Medicare for All in addition to canceling medical and pupil mortgage debt. He is outspoken in his assist for Palestinians and has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, the place greater than 70,000 individuals have been killed. Israel has denied genocide accusations, including from a UN commission, over its navy actions in Gaza following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, assault.
Israel has denied accusations of genocide associated to its navy marketing campaign in Gaza following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, assault, in which 1,200 individuals had been killed and 250 individuals had been taken hostage.
He additionally garnered endorsements from outstanding lawmakers, together with Sen. Bernie Sanders, and a number of other members of “the Squad” in the US House of Representatives.
The Democratic candidate’s humanitarian work has been a central a part of his run, significantly his two medical missions to Gaza in 2024 and 2025. Hamawy and his medical colleagues had been trapped in Gaza in 2024 after Israel closed the Rafah border crossing. He was evacuated after Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth referred to as on then-President Joe Biden to assist get the medical personnel out.
It was a full circle second for the 2 — Hamawy operated on Duckworth after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004. She credit him with having saved her life and endorsed his marketing campaign on its first day.
“Army Veteran. Former combat surgeon. The leader New Jersey deserves,” Duckworth wrote on X after Hamawy’s win was projected.