Voters in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District delivered a decisive victory to Dr. Adam Hamawy on Tuesday, elevating a candidate whose campaign was shaped by firsthand experiences in war zones and whose central message challenged both the priorities of U.S. foreign policy and the influence of powerful political donors.
Hamawy, a retired U.S. Army combat surgeon and trauma physician, defeated a crowded field of Democratic candidates to secure the nomination for the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman. In a district widely considered one of the safest Democratic seats in the state, Hamawy now enters the general election as the clear favorite to represent central New Jersey in Congress.
His campaign stood out in part because of its direct connection to Gaza. In 2024, Hamawy volunteered at the European Hospital in southern Gaza during Israel’s military assault on the territory. That experience became a defining feature of his candidacy, informing both his criticism of U.S. support for the war and his broader argument that federal priorities should shift away from military spending and toward domestic needs.
Addressing supporters after his primary victory, Hamawy laid out the platform that carried him through the race.
“I am going to Congress to fight for you—for healthcare, not bombs, to abolish ICE, and to unrig the economy once and for all,” Hamawy said. “I will never take money from corporate PACs or AIPAC. I will always vote my conscience—I will be beholden to no one.”
The message resonated with a coalition of progressive voters and organizations that have increasingly sought candidates willing to challenge established Democratic positions on healthcare, military spending, and U.S. policy toward Israel. Hamawy’s victory comes as debates over Gaza continue to shape Democratic primaries across the country and as progressive groups attempt to build political support around calls for a reassessment of U.S. involvement in the conflict.
Unlike many candidates who have approached the issue from a policy perspective, Hamawy entered the race with firsthand experience treating victims of war. Before his volunteer work in Gaza, he served as a combat surgeon in Iraq. His military service remains a central part of his public profile and has earned him support from prominent figures across the Democratic Party.
Among those supporters is Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who has credited Hamawy with saving her life after the helicopter she was flying was shot down in Iraq in 2004. That history has given Hamawy a unique position in political debates over war, national security, and humanitarian crises, allowing him to speak as both a military veteran and a physician who has worked in active conflict zones.
Hamawy has spoken openly about the conditions he witnessed while working in Gaza and about the impact those experiences had on his decision to seek elected office.
“I have never in my career witnessed the level of atrocities and targeting of my medical colleagues as I have in Gaza,” said Hamawy, who served in Iraq.
His time in Gaza ended abruptly in May 2024, when he and members of his medical team were evacuated from the European Hospital after becoming trapped in the besieged enclave. The experience became a recurring theme throughout his campaign, helping distinguish him from other candidates in the race and providing a firsthand account of conditions that few members of Congress have directly observed.
Progressive organizations that invested heavily in Hamawy’s campaign pointed to that experience as one of the primary reasons voters rallied behind him. Justice Democrats and the IMEU Policy Project backed Hamawy with approximately $200,000 in mail advertisements during the primary campaign and celebrated his victory after the results became clear.
In a joint statement, the organizations said, “Dr. Adam Hamawy’s heroism and commitment to human rights were at the heart of his campaign to end Washington’s bottomless budgets for war abroad and to invest in communities at home.”
The groups argued that Hamawy’s experiences treating patients under bombardment gave him a perspective that is largely absent from Congress.
“Voters were drawn to Dr. Hamawy’s candidacy because he knows firsthand the reality of Israel’s genocide in Gaza like few do—having worked to save the lives of Palestinian children under bombardment and unimaginable conditions,” the organizations said.
The statement also linked Hamawy’s campaign to broader concerns about U.S. funding priorities and congressional responses to the war.
“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 groups said.
They added, “Dr. Hamawy will not look away from injustice, because he is unbought and committed to building on his lifetime of service to chart a new path in our politics away from cruelty, and toward compassion for all.”
National progressive leaders also embraced the result. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who backed Hamawy’s campaign, highlighted both his medical background and his support for healthcare reform following the victory.
“Dr. Hamawy will be a strong progressive voice in the House and, as a physician, he understands our healthcare system is broken and we need Medicare for All,” Sanders wrote.
Healthcare remained at the center of Hamawy’s message throughout the campaign. While much attention focused on his views regarding Gaza and U.S. military aid, Hamawy consistently tied those issues to domestic concerns, arguing that federal resources should be directed toward healthcare, economic security, and public services rather than continued military spending.
His slogan, “healthcare, not bombs,” became a concise expression of that broader argument. The phrase linked his experiences as a physician to his criticism of Washington’s budget priorities and reflected a growing strand of progressive politics that views healthcare access, economic inequality, immigration policy, and foreign policy as interconnected issues.
That perspective was especially evident during Hamawy’s victory speech, where he described his campaign as an extension of his work as a surgeon.
“For my whole life, I have tried to tackle the crises we face with my hands, treating patients,” Hamawy told supporters.
He then explained why he believed medicine alone was no longer sufficient.
“But I am a surgeon. I don’t like putting Band-Aids on bullet wounds,” he said. “It’s time for some preventative care. To get my patients—and all of us—the care they need, we are going to change the very system that’s hurting us.”
Hamawy’s rise has not been without controversy. Opponents and some media outlets have focused on his criticism of Israel and on allegations concerning connections dating back to the early 1990s involving Omar Abdel Rahman, the cleric known as the “Blind Sheikh,” who was convicted on terrorism charges in 1995 related to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and other plots. The source material provided does not include details regarding the nature of those alleged connections or Hamawy’s response to the allegations.
At the same time, supporters argue that efforts to define Hamawy primarily through those accusations overlook both his military record and his extensive medical service. They point instead to his years as a combat surgeon, his work treating civilians in Gaza, and his willingness to reject corporate PAC and AIPAC funding as evidence of an independent political approach.
The result in New Jersey’s 12th District adds another victory to a growing movement of progressive candidates seeking to reshape Democratic politics around healthcare reform, economic inequality, and opposition to continued military intervention abroad. While the full impact of Hamawy’s victory remains to be seen, his campaign demonstrated that a candidate whose political identity was forged in operating rooms rather than party institutions could build a winning coalition around issues that many Democratic voters increasingly view as connected.
“It’s time for some preventative care. To get my patients—and all of us—the care they need, we are going to change the very system that’s hurting us.”
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