The campaign for Dr. Nirav Shah for Governor announced February 12, 2026, it has received endorsements from dozens of health care leaders and professionals from across Maine. These include physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician associates, psychologists, paramedics, and public health experts with decades of combined experience. Many of them has spent careers practicing in rural communities and underserved regions of the state, the press release noted.
The Maine primaries are scheduled for June 9, 2026, and Dr. Shah has 6 other Democrats running for their party’s endorsement. And there are 10 Republicans running for the GOP endorsement come June 9.
Shah’s campaign says these endorsers from the health care system believe “Maine needs a governor who understands the system and is ready to fight back for patients and providers. They say Dr. Shah is the only candidate in the race with the firsthand experience and proven leadership to fix Maine’s broken health care system.”
“I’ve spent my career caring for patients in free clinics, migrant health programs, and community settings where access to care is never guaranteed,” Dr. Garrett Fontaine, one of the supporters, is quoted saying in the press release, adding, “I know how much leadership matters for the people who are too often left behind. Dr. Shah has dedicated his career to making health care more accessible and more humane, and he understands what it takes to build a system that works for everyone. That’s why I’m proud to support him for governor.”
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The press release quotes other healthcare workers who echo the same views.
Dr. Shah said he is “deeply honored” to have this support from frontline providers, adding, “Their support means a great deal to me, because it reflects a shared commitment to fixing what’s broken, strengthening our workforce, and making sure every person in Maine can get the care they need, close to home.”
For names of those who endorsed Dr. Shah, visit shaformaine.com/media
According to Shah’s biography, provided on his campaign website, the Indian American was born and raised in a small, rural town of 5,000 people in northern Wisconsin. Shah attended public schools until going to medical and law school at the University of Chicago.
After nearly a decade as a healthcare lawyer, Shah was chosen to lead the Illinois Department of Public Health, and is credited for working across the aisle to address the opioid crisis, maternal mortality, and childhood lead poisoning.
In 2019, Governor Janet Mills appointed Shah to be Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. As the threat of COVID-19 emerged, Shah is credited with taking early action. In early 2020, he secured personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and worked with a Maine company to significantly expand the state’s capacity to perform testing.
Later, Maine’s vaccine rollout became a model for the nation, the biography says, and Maine had among the lowest death rates in the country.
President Biden appointed Shah as the Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–the agency’s second in command. After President Trump’s election, Shah returned home to Maine and is currently a faculty member at Colby College.