Princeton employees donate to Altman, Cohen, Wang in N.J.-12 race

Following the federal campaign filing deadline for the first quarter of 2026 on April 15, updated individual contributions to candidates running in the N.J.-12 congressional primary are now available. University employees, including administrators and members of the faculty, contributed to the campaigns of Sue Altman, Brad Cohen, and Princeton neuroscience professor Sam Wang, 

The 12th congressional district contains Princeton. The seat is open following Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman’s announcement that she would not seek reelection.

Some of the race’s most prominent candidates, including Adam Hamawy and Altman, announced their candidacies following the end of the previous filing period on Dec. 31. There is a large gap between the total amounts received among the 13 Democratic candidates who submitted filings, with Hamawy receiving $546,965.40 compared to Elijah Dixon’s total donation amount of $7,980.00.

On April 21, Dixon dropped out of the race and endorsed Hamawy.

Wang, Altman, and Cohen have received $196,867.02, $406,374.87, and $424,371.18 in total contributions, respectively.

In 2024, Altman ran as the Democratic nominee in New Jersey’s 7th congressional district, losing to Republican Tom Kean. She announced her candidacy in the 12th district in February. Cohen is the mayor of East Brunswick.

Hamawy, a former army combat surgeon, did not receive any donations from Princeton employees, though he raised the largest total amount. No other candidates, including the sole Republican candidate, Gregg Mele, received donations from University employees.

Wang had the greatest total number of individual donations from the faculty. Professors who donated to Wang’s campaign included physics professor Robert Austin and neuroscience professor Carlos Brody.

Additional Princeton employees who donated to Wang’s campaign include politics and international affairs professor Jennifer Widner, sociology and public affairs professor Paul DiMaggio, Chair of the Department of Sociology Mitchell Duneier, assistant grants/business manager at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute Yi Liu, and chemistry and genomics professor Joshua Rabinowitz.

The total amount of donations from Princeton employees to Wang’s campaign was $2,800, not including the $110,000 Wang donated to his own campaign.

When asked why they chose to support Wang’s campaign, Austin and Brody emphasized the importance of having a scientist in Congress.

“I feel that we desperately need more scientists in Congress,” Austin, who donated $250, wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “The present administration is launching an unprecedented attack against science in both academia and the national labs, which are the Crown Jewels of America’s strength in fundamental science. More scientists, fewer lawyers!”

Brody, who donated $300 to Wang’s campaign, echoed Austin’s concerns over the Trump administration’s efforts to limit funding for science research.

“Science has been under ferocious attack from an administration that is using detailed knowledge of how science funding works in an attempt to permanently hobble public scientific research in the United States,” Brody wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “Sam Wang has the in-depth knowledge and skills to defend against that.”

Other University affiliates who donated to candidates did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Altman was the candidate with the second most number of campaign donations from University faculty. The three faculty members who donated to Altman are neuroscience and psychology professor Kenneth Norman, School of Public and International Affairs Professor of the Practice Heather Howard, and chemical and biological engineering Professor of the Practice Jean Tom GS ’93.

Howard’s campaign account “Heather Howard for Council” also donated $1,000 to Altman. Howard is a former Princeton councilmember.

Additionally, Liz Lempert, an assistant director at Princeton’s research development office and a former mayor of Princeton, donated to Altman’s campaign.

Norman has contributed to Altman’s previous run for Congress, donating $1,500 in 2024 and $500 in 2023. Howard also donated to Altman in 2024, giving $550 in total.

The total amount of donations from University employees to Altman’s campaign was $7,760. This represents a greater sum than Wang’s campaign. A majority of the donations to Altman came from two faculty members: Howard and Norman, who both donated $3,500.

One University administrator donated to Cohen. Randy Hubert, director of gender equity and Title IX administration in the Office of the Provost, donated $1,000 to Cohen’s campaign. Hubert did not respond to a request for comment.

Ryan Buschman is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Haddonfield, N.J., and can be reached at rb8146[at]princeton.edu.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.