DR. ADAM HAMAWY WINS CROWDED PRIMARY TO BEAT NJ MACHINE & ESTABLISHMENT IN SUBURBS
June 2, 2026, 9:50 pm | in
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2026
DR. ADAM HAMAWY WINS CROWDED PRIMARY TO BEAT NJ MACHINE & ESTABLISHMENT IN SUBURBS
Justice Democrats’ 3rd new win of the cycle elects veteran and Gaza surgeon to carry Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman’s progressive legacy forward
Washington, DC — Justice Democrat Dr. Adam Hamawy won the crowded primary in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District to succeed outgoing Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman in the Jersey suburbs. Despite an eleventh hour attempt from the establishment to boost an opponent with $400,000 in mysterious Super PAC support, Hamawy, a political outsider who has never run for public office, won in a landslide victory. He beat a wide field of opponents in an election many expected to be dominated by the New Jersey political machine. Hamawy centered his experience as a veteran and surgeon to expose the for-profit agenda behind America’s healthcare system and war machine to run on a clear vision for Medicare for All and making life more affordable for everyday people — not corporate lobbies and war profiteers.
“We are so proud to send New Jersey’s first Justice Democrat to Congress to fight for working families in Washington,” said Alexandra Rojas, Executive Director of Justice Democrats. “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. AIPAC, Crypto, and AI wanted to buy this seat and interviewed various candidates, but while they couldn’t choose which corporate shill to back, the left united behind a political outsider with a vision that spoke to the needs and priorities of Jersey voters. AIPAC’s cycle so far in New Jersey is a perfect representation of how much they flounder and fail against an electorate who simply knows who they are and therefore, knows better.”
Dr. Hamaway launched his campaign for Congress in January after Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman announced her retirement. As the establishment was divided and floundering, with Justice Democrats’ support, Hamawy coalesced progressive groups and elected leaders behind his campaign, outraising his opponents, and being the first candidate to go up on TV — propelling him to become the progressive frontrunner in an extremely crowded suburban field. In the final weeks of this race, Hamawy’s opponents became so desperate to blunt his momentum that they organized a series of coordinated, Islamophobic attacks against him and his record which voters rejected as offensive and bigoted.
Alongside Justice Democrats, Dr. Adam Hamawy was endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Rep. Summer Lee, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Delia Ramirez, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Rep. Ro Khanna, Rep. Maxwell Frost, Rep. Lateefah Simon, Rep. Robert Garcia, Rep. Chuy Garcia, Rep. Jill Tokuda, former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, former Rep. Keith Ellison, former NJ-12 candidate Elijah Dixon, and State Rep. Chris Rabb. He was also endorsed by over 30 organizations, including the Sunrise Movement, PAL Pac, Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, National Nurses United, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action, Track AIPAC, Common Defense, A New Policy PAC, Veterans for Responsible Leadership, Our Revolution, Climate Revolution Action Network, CAIR Action, Hindus for Human Rights Action, Emgage Action, and the Christopher Street Project.
Dr. Adam Hamawy is a surgeon, veteran, father of four, and son of Egyptian immigrants who moved to the district when he was a kid. He was raised in Old Bridge, before going to Rutgers-New Brunswick for college, and medical school in Newark. He served eight years in the US Army becoming a Lt. Colonel, and serving as a combat trauma surgeon in combat and disaster zones like Iraq and Haiti. In Iraq, he operated on now-Senator Tammy Duckworth, who credits him with saving her life. After the Army, Dr. Hamawy returned to New Jersey where he started his own practice in Princeton as a reconstructive plastic surgeon. Since then, he has continued to volunteer to provide medical support in disaster and war zones—including in 2024 during the genocide in Gaza, where he spoke of the unmatched levels of civilian casualties he witnessed. As a result of his work in Palestine, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman brought Dr. Hamawy as her guest to the State of the Union in 2025.
Dr. Hamawy ran a campaign building on Rep. Watson Coleman’s legacy to deliver a government that works for everyday people — not corporate special interests — especially fighting for Medicare for All as a doctor who has seen firsthand the effects of overpriced, bureaucratic healthcare systems on both medical professionals and working families. He is also running to bring federal investments to public education, ending forever wars and taxpayer funding for genocide, and taking on corporate interests to make life more affordable for families in New Jersey.
Justice Democrats partnered with IMEU Policy Project to send numerous pieces of mail in this election boosting Hamaway’s profile and vision to take on corporate greed and the pro-war lobby to fight for a more affordable New Jersey. Justice Democrats and IMEU Policy Project’s independent expenditure spent $200,000 in NJ-12. In total, Justice Democrats also raised over $12,500 from over 330 contributors with an average donation of $37 to Hamawy’s campaign directly.
Justice Democrats’ victory was a defeat of AIPAC and the Democratic establishment, out-organizing them out of relevancy in NJ-12. Dr. Adam Hamawy will join Chris Rabb and Pastor Frederick Douglass Haynes III as new Justice Democrats in Congress to advance their mission of building independent power for the working class in Congress by electing a bloc of leaders who meet the urgency of our political moment and serve the people’s agenda — not the interests of big corporate donors.
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Justice Democrats started in 2017 under the first Trump administration and have become the leading progressive electoral organization recruiting working-class candidates to Congress. Over the last four cycles, they recruited and helped elect members of the Squad including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamal Bowman, Cori Bush, and Summer Lee. Since forming they have been a part of successfully unseating five 15+ year incumbents (collectively they served 108 years in office).
