Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Nirav Shah, the former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director who recently lost in the Democratic primary for governor, officially threw his name into the race to succeed Graham Platner on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
Like many other Democrats who are jumping in<\/a> officially following Platner\u2019s exit Wednesday evening<\/a>, Shah was essentially already in the race. On Tuesday, he was doing interviews and calling for debates and an open process.<\/p>\n But Thursday\u2019s comments, which were posted to social media, cemented his status as a candidate.<\/p>\n \u201cEstablishment politicians have failed us,\u201d Shah said on X. \u201cTo defeat Susan Collins, we need an outsider who is not afraid to take on the broken system she has spent decades upholding.\u201d<\/p>\n Before running for governor, Shah led Maine through the Covid-19 pandemic, something that has given him an incredibly high name ID statewide. He\u2019s branded himself as a progressive, but he also has distance from Platner, who did not endorse Shah as one of his ranked-choice candidates in the gubernatorial primary.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m proud to have dedicated my career to public service, and to have delivered for Mainers in our darkest times,\u201d Shah said in his post. \u201cNow, in this unprecedented moment, I\u2019m ready to unite our party and fight for you once again.\u201d<\/p>\n