Hamawy endorsed by Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC

In a blow to several of his progressive foes in the 12th congressional district, Adam Hamawy got an endorsement this morning from the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, the political arm of Congress’s largest assemblage of progressive Democrats.

Nearly 100 House Democrats are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, among them the 12th district’s retiring congresswoman, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), and five other sitting members of the New Jersey delegation. The PAC’s Hamawy endorsement, then, is yet another sign that the plastic surgeon and Army veteran has made huge establishment inroads on his first run for office.

“Adam is running for Congress to create an America where everyone can thrive,” CPC PAC co-chairs Pramila Jayapal, Greg Casar and Maxwell Frost said in a joint statement. “His bold progressive campaign is centered around ending forever wars, abolishing ICE, making the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes and allowing everyone to get the health care they need through Medicare for All.”

Many of Hamawy’s opponents, among them established New Jersey elected officials like Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Trenton) and Somerset County Commissioner Shanel Robinson (D-Franklin), have run explicitly as progressive Democrats, a stance befitting a deep-blue and very liberal district. But they’ve found themselves mostly boxed out by Hamawy, who proved to have more D.C. connections and fundraising prowess (as well as an allied super PAC willing to spend $2 million on his behalf).

The CPC PAC’s endorsement is roughest of all, though, for Sue Altman, who has gotten the PAC’s endorsement in the past but was unable to secure it again. Back in 2024, when Altman was a candidate for the swingy 7th district, the CPC PAC came in early to support her against a more moderate primary foe; Altman went on to win that primary but lose the general election to Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield).

In this year’s 12th district race, Hamawy has also gotten endorsements from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), and plenty of other progressive members of Congress, though almost none of those endorsements have come from within New Jersey. (Watson Coleman herself is not endorsing in the race.)

That has echoes of the coalition that helped elect Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge) in a special election this year, though a couple of Mejia’s key backers have gone in different directions. The Working Families Party and New Jersey Citizen Action are both supporting Altman, a former WFP state director, while the Communications Workers of America are behind Reynolds-Jackson.