By admin 
Adam Hamawy, a retired US Army combat surgeon and sharp Israel critic, will win the crowded Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.
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Hamawy led a field of roughly a dozen Democrats, including some state and local elected officials, in the solidly blue seat currently held by retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman. He was able to consolidate support from progressives and was boosted by American Priorities, a pro-Palestinian super PAC that spent more than $1.5 million supporting his campaign.
“We were told that an outsider couldn’t win. That we couldn’t compete. Well, I think we competed,” Hamawy, who is Muslim and immigrated to the US from Egypt as a baby, told supporters Tuesday night, according to a transcript of his remarks shared by his 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 party’s primary, in the general election in November.
His win comes after critics resurfaced his past association with Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind, Egyptian-born cleric who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in a case related to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Hamawy was called as a defense witness in the trial.
In a statement, a campaign spokesperson said Hamawy “condemns that man’s violent rhetoric and actions, and all violence, hatred, and terrorism — and he will always,” adding 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 said, noting Hamawy did not 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.
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Hamawy’s allies framed his win as a rebuke of the attacks leveled against him during 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 executive director of Justice Democrats, a group that works to elect Democrats who don’t accept money from corporate PACs, said in a statement.
Hamawy was among the most progressive candidates in the race — he supports Medicare for All as well as canceling medical and student loan debt. He is outspoken in his support for Palestinians and has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, where more than 70,000 people have been killed. Israel has denied genocide accusations, including from a UN commission, over its military actions in Gaza following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack.
Israel has denied accusations of genocide related to its military campaign in Gaza following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 people were taken hostage.
He also garnered endorsements from prominent lawmakers, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, and several members of “the Squad” in the US House of Representatives.
The Democratic candidate’s humanitarian work has been a central part of his run, particularly his two medical missions to Gaza in 2024 and 2025. Hamawy and his medical colleagues were trapped in Gaza in 2024 after Israel closed the Rafah border crossing. He was evacuated after Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth called on then-President Joe Biden to help get the medical personnel out.
It was a full circle moment for the two — Hamawy operated on Duckworth after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004. She credits him with having saved her life and endorsed his 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.
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