A plastic surgeon with documented past associations with an Al-Qaida front organization and the convicted terrorist known as the “Blind Sheikh” won the Democratic primary Tuesday for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, as voters across six states headed to the polls in what is shaping up as a consequential early test of the 2026 midterm landscape.

Adam Hamawy, who secured the nomination to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman in the solidly Democratic district covering Trenton and surrounding communities, is now the heavy favorite to win the seat in November — a prospect that has alarmed pro-Israel and counterterrorism observers alike.

Hamawy’s past associations with figures and organizations linked to Islamic terrorism received significant coverage in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s vote, apparently without damaging his standing among Democratic primary voters.

Jewish Insider reported last week that in 1994, Hamawy volunteered in Bosnia with the Benevolence International Foundation — a Chicago-based nonprofit later shut down by U.S. and Bosnian authorities as an Al-Qaida front. Hamawy described the work in a 1996 interview with the Newark Star-Ledger, saying he spent five weeks with the organization in Sarajevo and Zenica — the exact cities where Benevolence International maintained offices that were raided in 2002. The 9/11 Commission Report identified the group’s Sarajevo base as part of the covert financial and logistical network Osama bin Laden established in the early 1990s.

Federal evidence documented that Benevolence International provided Al-Qaida with funds, weapons, and logistical support. Its chief executive, Enaam Arnaout, pleaded guilty to racketeering and was later stripped of his U.S. citizenship, with prosecutors citing the group’s Al-Qaida connections. The U.S. Treasury Department and the United Nations Security Council continue to list the organization as a sanctioned terrorist-linked entity.

Separately, court transcripts from the 1995 trial of Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman — the “Blind Sheikh” convicted of plotting a campaign of terrorist attacks across New York City — show that Hamawy visited the sheikh at his home, accompanied him on a 13-hour drive to a Detroit conference in 1991, served as his translator at a press conference denying involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and testified on his behalf at trial. Hamawy has said he testified out of “civic duty” and that he condemns Abdel-Rahman’s “violent rhetoric and actions.”

Rep. Josh Gottheimer said he has “serious questions and deep concerns about [Hamawy’s] associations with terrorist organizations and leaders who have attacked America,” and that Hamawy “needs to answer these questions and explain himself to New Jersey voters.”

Hamawy has also drawn fire for his stance on Israel. He volunteered as a trauma surgeon at the European Hospital in Khan Younis during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza — a facility the IDF struck after identifying an underground Hamas command center operating beneath it, and where forces subsequently recovered the body of Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar. Hamawy has denied that any such infrastructure existed, telling the left-wing outlet Jacobin the hospital was “a completely benign civilian hospital with no tunnels underneath it.”

He has called for a full arms embargo on Israel, an end to military aid, and the Palestinian right of return. In a recent appearance on the program of Hasan Piker — a far-left streaming personality who has openly celebrated Hamas and made statements embraced by supporters of the September 11 attacks — Hamawy declared his opposition to Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, arguing it was “insulating Israel” from “having to deal with the consequences of war.” Fellow candidate Sue Altman responded that “we absolutely cannot and should not ever be cheerleading and wishing for the deaths of Israeli children.”

Hamawy’s endorsers include Sen. Bernie Sanders and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ro Khanna, as well as the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Jewish Voice for Peace. The pro-Palestinian super PAC American Priorities spent approximately $1.5 million boosting his candidacy.

In New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett won the Democratic primary and will face Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in November in what analysts consider a must-win race for Democrats. Kean has been absent from Capitol Hill since early March due to an undisclosed illness, though he issued a statement Tuesday saying he would return to in-person work “within a matter of weeks.” President Trump endorsed Kean the same day. Bennett bested three opponents including a former Small Business Administration official, a physician, and a businessman.

In Iowa, state Rep. Josh Turek defeated state Sen. Zach Wahls for the Democratic Senate nomination and will face Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson in November. The race has attracted national attention both for Turek’s background as a former paralympian born with spina bifida linked to his father’s Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, and for Democrats’ belief that Sen. Joni Ernst’s retirement opens a rare pickup opportunity in a deeply Republican state. On the Republican side, businessman Zach Lahn pulled off a significant upset, defeating Trump-backed Rep. Randy Feenstra for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

In New Mexico, former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland won the Democratic gubernatorial primary and is positioned to become the first Native American woman elected governor in U.S. history, succeeding outgoing Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

In Montana, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, endorsed by both outgoing Sen. Steve Daines and President Trump, quickly secured the Republican Senate nomination after polls closed.

In California, polls closed at 11 p.m. ET with early results showing incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass leading the city’s mayoral race with approximately 38% of the vote, with reality TV personality Spencer Pratt and progressive City Council member Nithya Raman trailing. The state’s congressional redistricting, backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, was also being closely watched for its potential to expand Democratic opportunities in the House.