The key facts
- According to AP, Hamawi won 74% of the vote, defeating Republican Gregg Mele
- He succeeds Bonnie Watson Coleman, who is leaving the House after ten years
- The physician took part in humanitarian missions, including in Gaza in 2024–2025
Victory in the midterm elections
Democrat Adam Hamawi won the US House of Representatives election in New Jersey's 12th district, defeating Republican Gregg Mele, the Associated Press reports citing Anadolu. At the time the result was announced, he had received 74% of the vote, according to AP figures cited by The National. Hamawi will become the first Muslim in Congress from New Jersey and, as The National notes, the first person of Egyptian descent in the House of Representatives.
Who is Hamawi
The 56-year-old Hamawi was born in Egypt and moved with his family as an infant to Old Bridge Township in New Jersey. He is a plastic surgeon, a retired Army physician and a veteran of the Iraq war; according to The National, he is credited with saving the life of Senator Tammy Duckworth after her helicopter was shot down in 2004. After the Army, he took part in medical missions in Bosnia, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria and other countries, and in 2024 and 2025 worked as a humanitarian trauma surgeon in southern Gaza. He has said that his 2024 trip to Gaza influenced his decision to enter politics.
The campaign and the election context
Hamawi, a first-time candidate, built his campaign on Medicare for All, ending US military aid to Israel, forgiving medical and student debt, and abolishing the immigration agency ICE; he also opposed a war with Iran. He will take the seat of Bonnie Watson Coleman, who is leaving the House after ten years. The National notes that about 180,000 Arab Americans live in New Jersey, and that, provided other members keep their seats, Hamawi will be one of five Muslims in the House. According to media projections, Democrats won several districts in the midterm elections, although Republicans retain a narrow majority in the House — 218 seats to 214.
