Democratic candidate for Congress Dr. Tina Shah, a former Biden and Obama administration official, announced January 6, 2026, that she ended 2025 crossing the million-dollar threshold, raising $1,017,000, and becoming the fastest NJ-07 Democratic candidate to this benchmark. Shah is one of 8 Democrats vying for the party’s endorsement. The date for the Democratic primary is yet to be decided.
Shah has been endorsed by the Indian American Impact Fund, a leading PAC focused on the community up and down the ballot, from school boards to Congress.
Her campaign called that achievement an indication of Dr. Shah’s momentum and one which “establishes her as the top candidate to defeat Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr. in one of the most competitive races in the country this year.”
Shah enters 2026 with nearly $650,000 on hand, according to her campaign. The latest filing with the Federal Election Commission is not yet available (fec.gov), as of this report.
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Kean, who was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2023, is an attorney and former New Jersey State Assembly member.
“I am so proud of the support our campaign has earned,” said Dr. Shah. “We need a representative who will lower costs for working families, protect reproductive rights, and ensure everyone has access to high-quality healthcare. New Jerseyans are demanding leaders who will put patients over industry profits.”
The Cook Political Report, a leading rating agency, has made NJ-07 a top “toss-up” district race in the nation come November 3, 2026.
Dr. Shah is an intensive care doctor, a triple board-certified physician, has served under three presidential administrations, developing strategies to expand access to healthcare to veterans and leading the first federal plan to combat the burnout that drove doctors and nurses out of the field.