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Gaza Volunteer Adam Hamawy Defeats Gregg Mele To Win New Jersey House Seat
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Adam Hamawy wins New Jersey's 12th District seat, defeating Republican Gregg Mele. Becomes the first Muslim member of New Jersey’s congressional delegation.
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Hamawy wins New Jersey seat
Adam Hamawy, a surgeon who volunteered in Gaza, won a seat in the United States House of Representatives representing New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, defeating Republican Gregg Mele.
Hamawy became New Jersey’s first Muslim member of Congress after the race results were announced around 8:26 p.m. ET, with Hamawy receiving 74.8% of the votes so far with 27% of ballots counted.
Hamawy is a Democrat and a former U.S. Army combat surgeon, and he based his campaign in part on treating patients in conflict zones including Gaza.
Hamawy is set to succeed Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman, who announced in November 2025 that she would not seek reelection, leaving the seat vacant for the first time in more than a decade.
Gaza work shapes platform
Hamawy volunteered in Gaza in 2024 and 2025 through the Palestinian American Medical Association with coordination from the World Health Organization, and he campaigned against military assistance to Israel and other countries committing human rights violations. Hamawy called the war on Iran “illegal and immoral” in an interview with the New Jersey Monitor in May, and he accused the United States of “plac[ing] the special interests of defense contractors and hawks, as well as groups like AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and Israel’s special interests.”
Hamawy also advocated expanding access to healthcare, increasing funding for public schools, and reducing costs for working families. Hamawy’s district is home to about 11,000 Arab-Americans, according to the Arab American Institute, and New Jersey has a large Arab-American community numbering about 179,000 members.
First Muslim, wider stakes
Hamawy’s victory makes him New Jersey’s first Muslim and the first Arab-American to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and it also makes him the second Egyptian-American to serve in Congress after George Helmy.
Hamawy’s campaign and biography tied his political entry to his medical work, and TRT Español said he became the first Muslim elected to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Congress after defeating Gregg Mele.
Al Jazeera described Hamawy as an Egyptian-American surgeon who volunteered in Gaza and said what he witnessed there pushed him into politics.
Hamawy’s win preserves the Democratic Party’s hold on the 12th district seat in New Jersey, as results were confirmed Tuesday night, according to TRT Español.