In a primary election result that underscores shifting currents within U.S. Democratic politics, Egyptian-American combat surgeon Adam Hamawy has secured a decisive victory in New Jersey’s 12th District Democratic primary, all but guaranteeing him a seat in the U.S. Congress next year.
With over 93% of ballots counted by 10 a.m. local time Wednesday, Hamawy captured more than 28% of the vote, outpacing his closest competitor by a substantial margin. The 12th District, home to the prestigious Princeton University, has been a reliably Democratic stronghold for at least 15 years, leaving little doubt that Hamawy will defeat his Republican challenger in the November general election. If he wins as expected, he will make history as the first Muslim to represent New Jersey in Congress; the candidate grew up in the state and still resides there today.
Hamawy’s political profile weaves together a rare combination of military service, frontline medical experience, and high-profile progressive and centrist endorsements. A veteran combat surgeon, Hamawy’s path to politics first intersected with current U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth in 2004, when he treated the then-soldier for life-threatening injuries in Baghdad that required a double leg amputation. Duckworth has long credited Hamawy with saving her life, and she repaid that debt 20 years later by supporting his campaign from its launch, marking a rare centrist endorsement for an candidate aligned with the modern progressive Democratic movement.
Hamawy catapulted to national attention earlier this year for his harrowing 2024 medical mission to Gaza, where he was deployed to the European Hospital in Khan Younis as part of a delegation organized by the Palestinian American Medical Association. When Israel closed the Rafah Crossing into Egypt, Hamawy and 19 other U.S. healthcare workers were trapped inside the besieged enclave. After the Biden administration negotiated safe passage for the 17 delegation members who held U.S. citizenship, Hamawy refused to evacuate until every member of his team was guaranteed exit. He eventually reached Jordan in late May 2024, and upon returning to the U.S., he repeatedly pressed congressional leaders to address the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.
ideologically, Hamawy runs on a progressive platform aligned with the wave of new left Democrats who have found electoral success across the U.S. in recent months, prioritizing cost of living affordability and universal equitable access to healthcare. His campaign earned early and widespread support from leading progressives, including the full Congressional Progressive Caucus, Senator Bernie Sanders, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib. He also secured backing from climate advocacy groups, the national nurses union, and multiple veterans organizations. He entered the primary as the clear frontrunner in both polling and fundraising, with his campaign reporting a total haul of $1.4 million ahead of election day.
Democratic Party leaders welcomed Hamawy’s primary win. “Democratic voters throughout New Jersey have once again demonstrated that they understand the stakes of this moment,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a statement Tuesday night. “As a veteran, combat surgeon, and small business owner, Adam Hamawy has continually served his community and our country. He is a proven fighter for working families. We look forward to welcoming him to Congress.”
Progressive and pro-Palestinian advocacy groups framed Hamawy’s victory as a watershed moment for the Palestinian cause in U.S. electoral politics, noting that the crisis in Gaza has become a defining issue for young Democratic voters in 2024. “Voters were drawn to Dr Hamawy’s candidacy because he knows firsthand the reality of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza like few do – having worked to save the lives of Palestinian children under bombardment and unimaginable conditions. His experience is necessary in Congress now more than ever, as too many of the people meant to represent us continue to look the other way while our tax dollars fund injustices here and abroad,” the IMEU Policy Project and Justice Democrats said in a statement Tuesday night.
Jewish Voice for Peace linked Hamawy’s win to a growing global movement that is reshaping domestic U.S. politics. “Last night, Palestine was on the ballot – and won,” the group wrote. “We are on our way to solidifying Palestine as part of popular politics that is intertwined with the fight for working people across the country.”
Hamawy’s path to the primary win was not without conflict, as he faced sustained attacks from pro-Israel and right-wing political actors ahead of the vote. When asked ahead of the election about the criticism he faced, Hamawy downplayed the attacks, noting he had endured far greater adversity during his medical and military career. “I have done harder things than mount a political campaign,” Hamawy told Middle East Eye on the eve of the election. “What’s the worst thing they’re going to do? Call me some names, attack me? I have seen much worse.”
Last month, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed that drew a false equivalence between Hamawy’s values and those of Omar Abdel Rahman, the convicted “Blind Sheikh” who was found guilty of plotting terrorist attacks in the 1990s and died in U.S. prison in 2017. Notably, Hamawy himself testified as a witness in Rahman’s 1995 trial, the largest terrorism trial in U.S. history at the time, where he told the jury that while the cleric expressed anti-American views, he never explicitly outlined plans for a murder plot. Later, Jewish Insider published an article tying Hamawy to al-Qaeda, citing his 1994 volunteer medical mission to Bosnia with the Benevolence International Foundation, a Saudi charity that was not blacklisted by the U.S. or United Nations until 2002, eight years after Hamawy’s work with the group.
The attacks drew national condemnation from progressives, and even reached the Senate floor, where Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy, who drew international attention earlier this year for breaking the arm of a pro-Palestinian activist who disrupted a Senate hearing, tweeted, “Democrats are now running actual terrorists for Congress. Surprising? No. Disappointing? Yes.”