CHICAGO: An Egyptian-American US Army trauma surgeon who served in Iraq and Gaza, and who treated first responders injured in the 9/11 attacks, won the Democratic nomination for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District seat on Tuesday.
Adam Hamawy is favored to defeat the winner of the Republican primary, Greg Mele, in the Nov. 3 general election.
It is considered a “safe” Democratic district. Democrat Kamala Harris carried New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District by 23 points over Donald Trump in the November 2024 presidential election.
In 2024, Hamawy volunteered to provide medical treatment to civilian victims in Gaza. “What I witnessed wasn’t war. It was much worse than that. It was killing on a scale I hadn’t witnessed before. I could only call it a genocide,” he said days before Tuesday’s election, angering pro-Israel voters.
Hamawy’s US military service, and his role providing medical treatment to Americans in several military conflicts including in Iraq, were major drivers for his election victory, supporters said.
Among his achievements, he is credited with helping to save the life of Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who lost both legs in 2004 when her Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade during fighting in Iraq.
Duckworth, who previously served as assistant secretary for public affairs for the US Department of Veterans Affairs before being elected to Congress and then the Senate in Illinois in 2017, endorsed Hamawy in the New Jersey election.
He defeated 12 other Democratic rivals to win the nomination to succeed retiring incumbent Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman.
