Adam Hamawy, the Egyptian-American surgeon credited with saving a senator's life in Iraq, wins a seat in Congress
A political newcomer, he won a crowded primary with 27% and will be the first Muslim to represent New Jersey in Congress.
Trenton — Adam Hamawy, a surgeon whose family emigrated from Egypt when he was a baby, has won New Jersey's 12th Congressional District. He will be the state's first Muslim representative in Congress.
The Associated Press called the race at 8.26pm on Tuesday. With about 93% counted, the Democrat had 160,586 votes, or 70.2%, to 64,797, or 28.3%, for the Republican Gregg Mele. He succeeds Bonnie Watson Coleman, who is retiring.
Army surgeon
Hamawy grew up in New Jersey and studied at Rutgers University and its medical school. He served eight years as a US Army surgeon, including nine months with a combat support hospital in Baghdad during the Iraq War.
Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois credits him with saving her life after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004. He later opened a plastic surgery practice in Princeton.
Gaza and the road to politics
According to his campaign, he has volunteered to treat patients in Syria, Lebanon, Sudan and Haiti. He also volunteered at a hospital in Gaza during the war there, and in 2024 he was among doctors stranded after the Rafah crossing closed. Duckworth stepped in to help him get out.
A crowded primary
He entered politics as a newcomer in a field of a dozen or more Democrats and won with 27.4%. He had the backing of Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ro Khanna, and campaigned on working-class economics, including Medicare for All and letting Medicare negotiate drug prices.
"This is not about Republicans or Democrats," he said on primary night. "Both parties have failed to address the problems facing our families."
He will be sworn in when the new Congress meets in January.
Source: Asharq Al-Awsat, New Jersey Monitor, WHYY, The New Arab, November 2026.
