Balgarianovinite.com
Twelve Democrats have collectively raised more than $4.5 million ahead of New Jersey’s June 2 primary to replace Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D), setting up one of the state’s most crowded congressional contests this year.
Watson Coleman, who has represented New Jersey’s 12th District since 2015, is not seeking reelection, opening the door to a crowded Democratic primary featuring elected officials, political newcomers and self-funded contenders. Because the district has reliably elected Democrats for decades, the winner of Tuesday’s primary will enter the general election as a clear favorite.
Prior to announcing in November that she will not seek reelection, Watson Coleman raised nearly $300,000. Those leftover funds can be transferred to other candidates’ races, political parties, political action committees or charities.
Progressive candidate Adam Hamawy is leading the crowded field in fundraising, with $1 million raised as of May 13, and has also accumulated more than $1.5 million in super PAC backing, while a number of additional candidates raised enough money to keep the race competitive in its final days.
A poll conducted May 5-7 by Workbench Strategy shows Hamawy, a plastic surgeon and Army veteran, as the frontrunner in the race, with 19% of district Democrats supporting his candidacy. Sue Altman, a former aide to Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), and Brad Cohen, mayor of East Brunswick, both trail closely behind, holding 12% and 11% of the party’s support, respectively.
Cohen has raised $700,000 while Altman has raised $490,000. Close behind Altman are Samuel Wang ($464,000), Adrian Mapp ($430,450) and Squire Servance ($389,630). The other six candidates’ fundraising totals range from Kyle Little’s $30,555 to Jay Vaingankar’s $285,065.
Voters in the 12th district, which covers parts of Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties, have historically chosen Democratic representatives in Congress, last electing a Republican in 1996. Gregg Mele, a lawyer and professor with a background in finance, is the only candidate for the GOP nomination and has raised just $55,000, as of the end of the first quarter of 2026.
Because Democrats are heavily favored to retain the seat, the primary has become a contest over the party’s ideological direction. While the three frontrunners align on many progressive issues, such as abolishing ICE and supporting universal healthcare, Hamawy has gone further than his competitors when it comes to Israel’s war in Gaza, calling it a “genocide.”
Adam Hamawy
Hamawy, whose campaign has attracted support from pro-Palestine advocacy groups such as Americans for Justice in Palestine Action, claims nearly a quarter of the $4.5 million collectively raised by the 12 candidates. According to a Federal Election Commission filing submitted on May 21, Hamawy has raised $1 million and spent $718,159, maintaining his status as the race’s best-funded Democrat.
American Priorities, a newly formed pro-Palestine super PAC, spent more than $1.5 million between April 22 and May 15 on digital and television advertisements promoting Hamawy and his background as a Army combat surgeon. The super PAC has said it intended to spend as much as $2 million on the race.
American Priorities was launched in February with the aim of countering spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and recently spent over $500,000 to support North Carolina Democrat Nida Allam in the primary against Rep. Valerie Foushee. The PAC plans to spend at least $10 million on Democratic candidates and target at least 10 races.
Hamawy is also the only candidate to receive an extensive lineup of endorsements from prominent progressive figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.).
Brad Cohen
While Watson Coleman has said she would not take sides in the crowded primary, she did say there is one Democratic candidate she does not want to see win. That would be Brad Cohen, whose pro-Israel stance has drawn criticism from the incumbent.
Cohen has raised $700,545 and spent $512,091, making him the second-biggest fundraiser in the race. No super PAC has reported independent expenditures supporting Cohen thus far.
In addition to his fundraising success, Cohen has the backing of the Democratic Committee in Middlesex County, a jurisdiction that consistently registers some of the highest Democratic vote totals in the state.
Susan Altman
Altman’s campaign has raised $490,046 and spent $289,663. This isn’t Altman’s first run for Congress. In 2024, the progressive organizer ran in the 7th district and lost to Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R) after raising over $6 million.
Now, Altman faces another challenge as The Florence Avenue Initiative, a dark money group, has spent over $260,000 opposing her candidacy through digital advertising and mailers highlighting her positions on Israel and police funding. In 2024, Altman ran on a pro-Israel platform; however, she now claims to oppose U.S. weapons transfers to Israel and calls Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal.
The Florence Avenue Initiative isn’t new to New Jersey elections either. In the midst of last year’s governor’s race, the Texas-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization sent out mailers accusing now-governor Mike Sherril (D) of being anti-Israel.
The self-funded underdogs
While Hamaway, Altman, and Cohen have dominated fundraising, numerous other candidates have also gained financial traction – but mostly from their own wallets.
Squire Servance, a lawyer and trustee of Rutgers University, has raised $389,630, of which, $250,000 came from loans he made to his own campaign. He has spent $332,920 of these funds.
Samuel Wang, a professor of neuroscience at Princeton University, also loaned his campaign money, pouring in $110,000 from his own wallet, bringing him to a total of $464,806 raised. Wang has spent $294,099 of these funds.
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