Adam Hamawy wins New Jersey House race

Democrat Adam Hamawy won New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District race on November 3, defeating Republican Gregg Mele, according to an Associated Press projection. The call makes Hamawy the first Muslim elected to represent New Jersey in the U.S. House, and he is set to succeed retiring Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman. The projection was based on election-night returns, not a certified final tally. One report placed Hamawy at 70.8% with 80% of ballots counted; another reported 74.1% for Hamawy and 23.9% for Mele without specifying how many ballots had been counted. The figures reflect different reported snapshots, and the final result was not established in the reporting. Hamawy, a surgeon and former U.S. Army officer, drew attention during the campaign for medical work in Gaza and his positions on health care and U.S. military assistance abroad. His campaign biography says he served eight years in the Army, including a nine-month deployment to Baghdad during the Iraq War. He later established a plastic surgery practice in Princeton. Medical missions took Hamawy to Gaza in 2024 and 2025, according to his campaign biography. He has called for ending U.S. military aid to Israel...