Adam Hamawy, who has pitched himself as the single most progressive option for the voters of New Jersey’s 12th congressional district, is getting an endorsement today that will help with that: Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator whose presidential campaigns kickstarted the modern progressive movement.
“Dr. Adam Hamawy has saved lives with great courage and honor – he did it as a 9/11 first responder, as a combat trauma surgeon in Iraq, as a volunteer in hospitals under bombardment in Gaza, and in emergency rooms in New Jersey,” Sanders said in a statement. “As a physician he understands first-hand that our current health care system is broken, that health care is a human right, and that we must pass Medicare for All.”
Sanders is the latest, and most prominent, in a series of national progressive politicians and groups to endorse Hamawy, one of 12 Democrats seeking retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing)’s Central Jersey seat. Also on Hamawy’s side are the Justice Democrats and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar; a new pro-Palestinian super PAC, American Priorities, additionally plans on spending $2 million on his behalf.
In some ways, Hamawy’s coalition is starting to echo that of now-Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge), who scored an upset victory in the February special primary for Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s seat. Mejia was a top staffer on Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign, and the senator’s day-one support for her campaign helped establish her as a serious contender.
But unlike in that race, where Mejia was universally seen as the most left-wing option available, the progressive lane is far more splintered in the 12th district. Two other important parts of Mejia’s winning coalition, the Working Families Party and the Communications Workers of America District 1, have endorsed Hamawy foes Sue Altman and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, respectively.
