Hamawy wins N.J.-12 Democratic nomination after crowded primary

Adam Hamawy has won the Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives for New Jersey’s 12th congressional district, according to The Associated Press.

Hamawy emerged as the progressive frontrunner from a crowded field of Democrats, which at one point included 17 candidates, after the district’s decade-long representative Bonnie Watson Coleman announced in November that she would not seek reelection. Twelve candidates were actively running at the time of the election.

Throughout the campaign, Hamawy was heavily critical of Israel, vocally supported the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and advocated for healthcare reform, including Medicare for All.

Hamawy is a plastic surgeon with a private practice in Princeton and a former Army combat surgeon. He announced his campaign in January as a first-time candidate and has consistently led other candidates in fundraising.

Hamawy helped save the life of Sen. Tammy Duckworth after her helicopter was shot down during U.S. military action in Iraq, and he volunteered on a medical mission in Gaza in 2024. He repeatedly described what he saw in Gaza as a genocide and has called for ending U.S. weapons sales to Israel, including for munitions that support its Iron Dome anti-missile system.

For the Republican nomination, Gregg Mele ran unopposed.

“The political establishment put out their candidates, and the machine didn’t want another body. They didn’t want someone who would fight for the people. They wanted one of their own who was beholden to them,” Hamawy said at an election night party in Princeton with over 200 attendees. “We were told that we couldn’t compete. Well, I think we competed.”

In his speech, Hamawy reiterated his focus on the issues that drove his campaign, including addressing economic inequality, access to healthcare, abolishing ICE, and supporting the Palestinian people.

“New Jersey, we have proved once and for all that there is no such thing as progressive except for Palestine,” Hamawy said. Afterward, the crowd erupted in cheers of “Free Palestine.”

A series of prominent endorsements from progressive leaders and organizations — including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the socialist political commentator Hasan Piker, the Sunrise Movement, and Justice Democrats — helped elevate Hamawy in a crowded field.

Other candidates included Sue Altman, the former state director of New Jersey’s Working Families Party who ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic nominee in the state’s 7th district two years ago; Sam Wang, a Princeton professor of neuroscience with a background in redistricting and gerrymandering research; East Brunswick mayor Brad Cohen; state assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson; Somerset County Commissioner Director Shanel Robinson; and Plainfield mayor Adrian Mapp.

Cohen, the most vocally pro-Israel candidate in the race, currently trails Hamawy in second place.

In the days leading up to the election, Hamawy held a major rally in Trenton with Piker; Chris Rabb, the recently-nominated democratic socialist Pennsylvania congressional candidate; and others.

At the rally, and repeatedly throughout the campaign, Hamawy criticized corporate PAC money and what he describes as money from corrupt special interests like AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. In the race, though, Hamawy received the most financial support from PACs and super PACs — most prominently from American Priorities, a new super PAC that aims to boost pro-Palestine candidates.

American Priorities spent over $1.5 million in support of Hamawy. Altman received around $400,000 in support from the super PAC Project 218, but she was notably the target of a series of negative attack mailers from the dark money group Florence Avenue Initiative which painted her as a carpetbagger and not truly progressive. It is not clear who Florence Avenue Initiative’s funders are.

In Princeton, two students — Quentin Colón Roosevelt ’27 and Alex Norbrook ’26 — led Princeton for Adam, the branch of Hamawy’s campaign in the municipality. Colón Roosevelt and Norbrook organized weekly canvassing events in support of Hamawy.

“We’re overjoyed that Hamawy won this election. Students turned out to support him across the semester to knock on doors in Princeton, sometimes on professor’s doors,” Norbrook said. “As young people, we have our eyes on the future. To us, Adam represents that future, and we’re thrilled that he can help bring that future into reality.”

“We mobilized, not just college students at Princeton, but students around Princeton, including Princeton High School students,” Colón Roosevelt said. “So many community members showed up on campus, meeting me at Nassau Hall, to launch for canvasses,” he added.

Hamawy’s campaign also sought to gain traction on social media. In mid-May, he attended a lunch in North Brunswick with a group of young, progressive social media content creators. Among those present was Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh, the founder of the popular Instagram account @muslim, which has since shown support for Hamawy.

Hamawy has faced some criticism for his ties to Omar Abdel Rahman, known as the “Blind Sheikh,” who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in 1995, in part for his role in inspiring the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Hamawy served as a witness in Abdel Rahman’s trial and spent time with him for several years prior to his arrest. During the campaign, Hamawy has criticized the sheikh’s actions and comments and said he did not have contact with the sheikh after the arrest.

The large number of candidates in the primary follows the end of New Jersey’s county line ballot system, which placed all candidates endorsed by a political party’s county-level organization in the same row or column. The system was viewed by voting rights advocates as favoring party-backed candidates and limiting political participation.

In the general election, Hamawy will be heavily favored to win against Mele, the Republican candidate, in a district that is considered to be a safe Democratic seat. The general election will occur on Nov. 3.

Oliver Wu is the assistant News editor for the ‘Prince’ leading town coverage, focused on the Municipality of Princeton and beyond. He is from Stony Brook, N.Y. and can be reached at oliver.wu[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

Ryan Buschman contributed reporting.

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