“Jersey – we all know it: it’s getting harder and harder for families to make ends meet. Americans deserve healthcare, education, and housing, not their tax dollars funding bombs and occupation,” he wrote on X. “I’m running for Congress in NJ-12 to fight for an America where everyone can thrive.”

He suggested the main reason for his run was to redirect funds from foreign policy or intervention to healthcare and education.

“We’re able to bomb Venezuela, we’re bombing Nigeria, we’re bombing Gaza – why don’t we have enough money to fix our health care system? Why don’t we have money to fix our education?” Hamawy asked. “That’s why I’m running.”

Hamawy spent 8 years as a U.S. Army officer and deployed for a nine-month stint as a combat surgeon in Baghdad during the Iraq War. He treated Duckworth after her helicopter came under attack by Iraqi insurgents.

The 56-year-old expressed pride in Duckworth’s accomplishments.

“I treated hundreds of people in Iraq when I was there: soldiers, Marines, airmen,” he said. “Many of them went on to do great things,” he said. “One of them ended up being a senator, and for me, that shows that my work actually made a difference.”

He’ll join a crowded race to replace Watson-Coleman, who is retiring after a more than 10-year stint in Congress.

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He says the difference for him compared to others in the race is that he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty.

“Politics was never my plan,” Hamawy said in his launch video. “But I’ve lived these struggles hands-on. I’m running for Congress to fight for health care, for our veterans, for all of us here at home – and to put humanity first. I’ve gotten my hands dirty my whole life. Now I’m ready to do it again.”