Practicing physician of Westfield, NJ, Dr. Tina Shah announced July 1, 2025, that she is launching her campaign to be elected to the US Congress from New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District. She wants “to put insurance companies and career politicians like Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr. on notice that it is time to fix what is broken in our healthcare system and in Washington,” the Indian American candidate declared.
“I’m running for Congress because America is in critical condition and enough is enough,” said Dr. Shah.
Congressional District 7 is highly competitive, with several candidates vying for the seat. According to New Jersey Globe, Shah has already put together her campaign team and hired veteran strategist Mollie Binotto, and as her campaign manager Rachel Berlowe, both experienced politicos.
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Back in 2023, Shah had looked into running for Congress, but decided not to, the Globe reported.
In October 2024, Cook Political Report, rated NJ 7th District as “Lean Republican” and news reports consider it one of the most competitive districts. But Shah’s campaign noted that the Center for Politics rated incumbent Republican Tom Kean Jr. as highly vulnerable and District 7 as one of the only “toss-up” congressional races for the 2026 general elections. Additionally, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has included Tom Kean Jr. in their 2026 “Districts in Play” list, notes Shah’s campaign.
The New Jersey native draws heavily on her professional experience to define her run. “As a physician I took an oath to first do no harm, but when I go to work in the Intensive Care Unit, I’m up against a system that is designed to make patients broke and sicker, prioritize insurance companies’ profits above all else, and burn out a workforce trying to save lives.”
She accused her opponent of doing nothing to lower healthcare costs or expand access to care.
“Instead, he’s dodging his constituents while casting the deciding vote to gut Medicaid and attacking access to essential care, including abortion, in New Jersey,” Dr. Shah said.
Dr. Shah continued: “Kean Jr. also supports Donald Trump and RFK Jr. who, with no medical training, are actively gutting lifesaving medical research and putting vaccine deniers in charge of our vaccine system.”
She went on to add, “If we keep going down this road, there’s only one outcome: people will get hurt. What we do next is critical. I’m running for Congress to fix what is fundamentally broken and stand up for my patients, my neighbors, my community, and New Jersey.”
Dr. Shah, who has worked in both the private and public sector, is triple board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and critical care medicine, and has worked at the local and national level on healthcare issues. She served as senior advisor to US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy during the Biden administration, and was a White House Fellow and special advisor to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs during the Obama administration.