New Jersey 12th District Voter Guide: Hamawy, Mele, Jinete and Jordan on Costs and Health Care
Four candidates are on the ballot in New Jersey's 12th Congressional District on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, and the seat is open: Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a Democrat, is retiring. The candidates are Democrat Adam Hamawy, a surgeon and Army veteran; Republican Gregg Mele of Plainfield; Green Party candidate Andres Jinete of Bound Brook; and Winston Jordan of Lambertville, who is running under the slogan "Get Money Out."
The Digital Free Press voter guide video compares the four candidates on the cost of living and health care. Here is where each one stands, based on the video, the NJ Spotlight News voter guide and the candidates' own campaign websites.
The district covers parts of Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties, including Trenton, Princeton, Ewing, West Windsor, East Brunswick, North Brunswick, South Brunswick, Plainsboro, Monroe, Franklin, Bound Brook, Montgomery, North Plainfield and Plainfield. According to NJ Spotlight News, 43% of registered voters are Democrats and 18% are Republicans, with most of the rest unaffiliated.
Why the Cost of Living and Health Care Are Issues
Energy bills have been a major cost worry in New Jersey this year. Gov. Mikie Sherrill's first executive order, signed in January 2026, declared a state of emergency on utility costs and directed state regulators to use bill credits to offset electricity supply increases, the state Board of Public Utilities says. Health insurance also got more expensive for many families after the enhanced federal Affordable Care Act premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025; Get Covered New Jersey says most marketplace enrollees face higher premiums in 2026. New Jersey Monitor reported in April that about 69,000 people, roughly 14% of those who had signed up for 2026 marketplace coverage, had dropped their plans.
Adam Hamawy (Democrat)
Hamawy, 56, grew up in Old Bridge, attended Rutgers on an ROTC scholarship and graduated from New Jersey Medical School, according to his campaign. He treated victims at a Ground Zero field hospital on Sept. 11, 2001, rose to lieutenant colonel in the Army and served as a combat trauma surgeon in Iraq, where one of his patients was Tammy Duckworth, now a U.S. senator. He later worked in New Jersey emergency rooms and opened a practice in Princeton. He won a 12-candidate Democratic primary, NJ Spotlight News reported.
On the cost of living, the video says Hamawy supports federal clean energy and housing investments and breaking up monopolies. In his NJ Spotlight News answers, he says, "I support large federal investments in clean energy and housing to address rising prices and stimulate our economy," and adds that "we need to break up monopolies that are abusing their market power to price gouge consumers." He also links higher gas prices to the war with Iran, which he opposes.
On health care, the video says Hamawy supports Medicare for All with no out-of-pocket costs, drug price negotiation and canceling medical debt. He told NJ Spotlight News, "We need universal, single-payer healthcare with no out-of-pocket costs," with coverage that includes hearing, dental and vision care. His campaign website backs letting the government negotiate drug prices, breaking up pharmacy benefit managers, fighting hospital consolidation and the Medical Debt Cancellation Act, which he says would erase "$220B in medical debt."
Gregg Mele (Republican)
Mele, of Plainfield, ran for the Republican nomination in the 6th District in 2024, according to NJ Spotlight News, which calls him a frequent candidate. His campaign biography says he graduated from Montclair State University and holds degrees from Stevens Institute of Technology, Baruch College, New York Law School and New York University School of Law, and has taught graduate courses in law, finance, economics and technology at Stevens and Fairleigh Dickinson University. The NJ Spotlight News guide lists no answers from him, so it summarizes his campaign website.
On the cost of living, the video says Mele supports nuclear power, natural gas and faster permitting for domestic energy and the power grid. NJ Spotlight News says his website backs "reliable, dispatchable energy generation," nuclear power and natural gas "alongside competitive emerging technologies," faster permitting for "responsible domestic energy and grid infrastructure," and clear disclosure of subsidies, transmission expenses and other policy-driven costs paid by taxpayers or ratepayers.
On health care, the video says Mele supports price transparency, competition and portability instead of a single federal payer. NJ Spotlight News says his website supports "greater price transparency, more competition, portability, and targeted reforms" meant to give patients more information and choice "rather than replacing the current system with a single federal payer."
Andres Jinete (Green Party)
Jinete, 29, of Bound Brook, is a tenant union organizer and a management student at Kean University who has worked for about 10 years at libraries in the district, he told NJ Spotlight News. He says he led a tenant union drive at a large Highland Park apartment complex and helped build a rapid response network to support communities when federal immigration agents came into them.
On the cost of living, the video says Jinete supports social housing, rent stabilization, free education and higher taxes on top earners. In his NJ Spotlight News answers, he calls for "bold economic programs that create social housing, stabilize rent, provide free healthcare and education and generate the green jobs of the future," paid for in part by taxing "the top 1% of income earners" and cutting the military budget. His platform calls for a renter's "bill of rights" and a goal of making 60% of the housing market "high-quality, income-based units."
On health care, the video says Jinete supports expanding Medicare into universal single-payer care with direct payments to providers. He told NJ Spotlight News that "Medicare has to become a universal single payer system" that cuts out insurance companies, and that "paying healthcare providers directly would be cheaper and more ethical." His platform calls for funding clinics and hospitals in medical deserts.
Winston Jordan (Get Money Out)
Jordan, 39, is an Army veteran who works in communications, he told NJ Spotlight News. He describes his campaign as "independent, nonpartisan, self-funded, and zero-donor," and says he will take no money from corporations, PACs or individual donors. His top issue is what he calls the district's chronic poverty rate.
On the cost of living, the video says Jordan supports a district universal income pilot and federal funding to reduce local poverty. In his NJ Spotlight News answers, he proposes "an NJ 12 economic security pilot centered on a universal income for U.S. citizens" and says he would "seek federal funding for district-scale programs that reduce poverty and measure results openly." He also supports strengthening Social Security and requiring large technology firms to contribute when artificial intelligence and automation displace workers.
On health care, the video says Jordan supports a district pilot combining VA and civilian care, with separate funding and priority access for veterans. He told NJ Spotlight News he would introduce "an NJ 12 VA+ and Community Care Network pilot" that would use existing VA facilities, staff and telehealth to expand access. Veterans would keep "priority access, earned benefits, and VA-funded care," while civilian care would be paid from a separate civilian health fund, he said.
Where to Follow the Candidates
Adam Hamawy: @HamawyForNJ on X and TikTok, @drhamawy on Instagram. Gregg Mele: @mele4.america on Instagram. Andres Jinete: @andresfjinete on X, Instagram and Facebook. Winston Jordan: @winstonforcongress_nj12 on Instagram, @winstonhjordan on TikTok and winstonforcongress.bsky.social on Bluesky.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. This guide is for information only; The Digital Free Press does not endorse any candidate.
Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press
Hold Everyone Accountable.
Sources: New Jersey Division of Elections, Official List, Candidates for House of Representatives (Sept. 4, 2026): https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2026/2026-official-general-candidates-us-house-0904.pdf ; NJ Spotlight News, 2026 Election: 12th Congressional District: https://www.njspotlightnews.org/special-report/2026-primary-12th-congressional-district/ ; Adam Hamawy campaign, About: https://hamawyfornj.com/about ; Adam Hamawy campaign, Priorities: https://hamawyfornj.com/priorities ; Gregg Mele campaign: https://www.mele4america.com/ ; Andres Jinete campaign, About: https://www.andresjinete.org/about ; Andres Jinete campaign, Platform: https://www.andresjinete.org/demands ; Winston Jordan campaign: https://www.winstonforcongress.com/ ; New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (Feb. 12, 2026): https://www.nj.gov/bpu/newsroom/2026/approved/20260212.html ; Get Covered New Jersey, Featured Updates: https://www.nj.gov/getcoverednj/findanswers/updates/ ; New Jersey Monitor, "69,000 drop NJ marketplace health plans after enrolling" (April 21, 2026): https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/04/21/69000-drop-nj-marketplace-health-plans-after-enrolling/
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