Dr. Adam Hamawy, a progressive plastic surgeon whose life-saving work in the Army has been contrasted with his long ago association with a terrorist Muslim cleric, prevailed in a crowded Democratic primary field Tuesday to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, the Associated Press projects.

Hamawy was one of a dozen active candidates in the 12th Congressional District, where the liberal Watson Coleman is retiring after 12 years in office (a 13th candidate was on the ballot but dropped out of the race).

Hamawy is now the prohibitive front-runner to win the seat in November.

Hamawy, who lives in South Brunswick and runs a plastic surgery practice in Princeton, entered the race as a political unknown. His campaign quickly gained traction as progressives simmered over Israel and its war with Hamas in Gaza. Hamawy’s work volunteering at a Gaza hospital during the war earned him support. He also earned the endorsements of high-profile progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna.

“Courageous candidates like Dr. Adam Hamawy are the fighters voters want to take on corporate power and fight for working people. Dr. Hamawy won because voters saw him as a fearless fighter for the working class against a political and economic system rigged for billionaires and other powerful interests,” Stephanie Taylor of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which endorsed Hamawy, said in a statement.

Hamawy, 56, led the Democratic field in fundraising even before a new super PAC called American Priorities, founded as a pro-Palestinian counterweight to the pro-Israel AIPAC, spent $2 million on his behalf.

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth has credited Hamawy, an Army National Guard veteran, with saving her life when her Blackhawk helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004. Hamawy also worked as a first responder at the World Trade Center following the 9/11 attacks.

Hamawy’s campaign planks are unabashedly progressive, including “Medicare For All” and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (which his campaign website says is “full of neo-Nazis at all ranks”) and dismantling the Department of Homeland Security.

But the heroic picture portrayed by Hamawy’s campaign and allies met a stark contrast when a publication tied to an anti-Islamic group resurfaced news reports of his 1995 testimony in defense of Omar Abdel-Rahman, the “blind sheikh” who was convicted on terrorism and seditious conspiracy charges, and whose followers conducted the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Hamawy, then a medical student in his 20s, had four years earlier accompanied Abdel-Rahman on a trip from New Jersey to Michigan, where Abdel-Rahman spoke at a conference and talked of “conquering the land of the infidels.” Even after the World Trade Center bombing, Hamawy acknowledged translating a document for Abdel-Rahman for a press conference.

Hamawy said on the campaign trail that he disavowed Abdel-Rahman’s calls for violence and called the critiques against him as “guilt-by-association attacks on Muslim and Arab candidates.”

While the Abdel-Rahman controversy got significant media attention and criticism from the right, most of Hamawy’s rivals declined to touch it. Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp, an exception, called Hamawy a “radical extremist.”

Hamawy in November faces Republican Gregg Mele, who has run unsuccessfully for several offices in New Jersey as a Republican and libertarian.

But Hamawy’s victory in the primary is tantamount to winning the general election. There are more than twice as many registered Democrats than Republicans in the district, where Watson Colman won reelection by 25 points in 2024, when Republicans performed more strongly in New Jersey than expected.

New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr., missing from public view for nearly three months with an undisclosed illness, said in a statement Tuesday he’s “more energized than ever” — but seemed to push back a timeline for his return to the Capitol.

He continued to withhold details of his illness and did not detail when he expects to be back in Washington.

Kean, who’s seeking a third term, faces no opposition in Tuesday’s Republican primary. Four Democrats are vying to unseat him.

“I am more energized than ever to keep fighting for the people of New Jersey’s 7th District. Right now I am focused on my recovery and under the advice of healthcare professionals, I will transition from virtual work to in person work within a matter of weeks,” Kean said. “At that time I will be completely transparent as to the nature of my medical condition. Once again, I appreciate all of the prayers and patience from my constituents and colleagues. I understand the need for transparency on this matter and I look forward to sharing my experience with the public.”

The 57-year-old Republican last voted on March 5, and his absence has been a national news story, with reporters scouring New Jersey and beyond for clues as to his whereabouts. The mystery comes as Kean faces what’s expected to be an extremely competitive reelection fight in his district, which he won by 5 points in 2024 — an unusually strong year in New Jersey for Republicans.

Kean has given just one interview to the press since March. He told New Jersey Globe on May 21 that he anticipated returning to voting and the campaign trail “in the next couple weeks.” His statement Tuesday that he will return to in-person work “within a matter of weeks” appears to push that timeline back.

The prolonged absence and President Donald Trump’s unpopularity have made Democrats more confident about ousting Kean, whose family has long been prominent in Garden State politics and whose father is the most popular former governor of New Jersey in modern times. Kean was also a state lawmaker for over 20 years.

Kean has also had to tamp down speculation that was starting to circulate among Republicans that he would not seek reelection.

Trump formally endorsed Kean in a social media post Monday night, saying the congressmember was “working tirelessly.”

“Serving the people of this district is the honor of my life,” Kean said. “Every day, I wake up determined to build on the results I have delivered for New Jersey families such as lowering costs, restoring the SALT deduction, funding our law enforcement, helping veterans, standing with Israel, strengthening our economy, and making government work better for the people it serves.”

The Democrats competing to take on Kean are Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot; Michael Roth, a former high-ranking Small Business Administration official; Tina Shah, a medical doctor; and Brian Varela, an entrepreneur who owns several daycare businesses.

The Democrats have treaded carefully on Kean’s absence, saying at a recent debate that they hope he recovers but they expressed frustration about his lack of communication.

“This campaign will offer a clear choice. While Washington Democrats continue pushing an agenda that is too extreme, too expensive, and out of step with New Jersey, I will continue putting our constituents first and working with anyone to get things done,” Kean said. “I am optimistic about the road ahead, and ready to earn the support of voters in every corner of this district. Together, we are going to win this race and continue delivering for New Jersey.”

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins has postponed committee action this week on a slate of government funding bills as Democrats prepare amendments targeting the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” still roiling congressional Republicans.

The Senate Appropriations Committee was scheduled to mark up three funding measures Thursday, but the committee announced Tuesday that the meeting would be rescheduled. The postponement comes as Republicans brace for votes on Democratic proposals to block several controversial Trump administration policies.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said in an interview that he has “already drafted a bunch” of amendments to block the Justice Department from carrying out the $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers the administration will not pursue.

“We should just eliminate this taxpayer slush fund altogether. I understand the Trump administration says they’re OK with that now. So let’s just make sure it doesn’t rear its head again,” Van Hollen said.

Those amendments would be for the bill that funds the departments of Commerce and Justice, along with NASA, federal science programs and the FBI.

“We’ve been able to work cooperatively on some of the big areas, like NASA and some of the other agencies,” said Van Hollen, ranking member on the appropriations panel that funds those agencies. “But there are big issues regarding DOJ.”

Van Hollen said he is also considering amendments related to President Donald Trump‘s decision to forgo relocating the FBI headquarters to suburban Maryland after the site was selected in a decade-long competition. That issue derailed committee approval last year of the bill that funds the FBI.

Collins and Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, have also yet to agree on bipartisan funding totals for the fiscal year that begins in October.

The committee was also set Thursday to consider bills to fund the Department of Agriculture and the FDA, as well as the operations of Congress.