Former Maine Center for Disease Control (CDC) Director Dr. Nirav Shah, who headed the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response, told the Portland Press Herald on Friday that he is considering a Democratic run for governor.
“I think we are in a moment where all of us should be considering running for something,” Shah told the outlet.
“I’m considering throwing my hat into the governor’s race,” he added
Gov. Janet Mills appointed Shah to head the Maine CDC in 2019, the year she took office, and he served in that position until 2023. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shah became the public face of the Mills Administration’s pandemic response when he began delivering daily updates starting in March 2020.
[RELATED: Maine Journalists Fawn Over Outgoing Nirav Shah…]
During his time as Maine’s equivalent of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Shah received fawning praise from local left-wing media outlets for quoting popular music while promoting cooperation with draconian and invasive pandemic-era restrictions and mandates, many of which, such as masking and social distancing, have now been shown to be ineffective or arbitrary.
[RELATED: Fauci Admits: No Evidence for Social Distancing, and Can’t Remember Studies Favoring Child Masking…]
“The bottom line here is that Maine CDC contact tracers are never gonna give you up, they’re never gonna let you down, they’re never gonna run around and desert you, Maine CDC contact tracers are never gonna make you cry, they’re never gonna say goodbye, and they’re never gonna tell a lie and hurt you,” he said in a 2020 message.
During his Friday interview with the Portland paper, Shah reminisced about his daily press updates and bragged about one occasion when he convinced a vaccine-skeptical man to take the COVID shot.
He also told the paper that he believes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda is a grift.
“MAHA is an appearance of science, but it’s really a wellness grift,” said Shah.
While directing the Maine CDC, Shah also served on the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), where he recommended including the COVID-19 vaccine in the standard immunization schedule for children, opening the door for further COVID vaccine mandates in schools.
After his stint as Maine CDC director, Shah took a job in 2023 as Principal Deputy Director of the national CDC until February 2025, including a brief nine-day stint as acting CDC director in July 2023.
He has since left his job with the federal government and returned to Maine, where he took a position as a professor at Colby College.
[RELATED: Former Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah Lands Professorship Gig at Colby College…]
Shah is now signaling a desire to re-enter the public eye with a potential gubernatorial run, though he did not give a timeframe for when he would make his decision or explain what would influence his choice.
“What attracted me in particular to the governor’s office is the impact you can have in the executive branch,” he told the Portland paper.
If he decides to run, Shah will join a crowded field that includes 16 candidates who have already filed to run for governor with the Maine Ethics Commission. The candidates include six Democrats, such as Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, seven Republicans, and three independents.
There are 18 candidates listed on the commission, but two people who initially filed to run as Republicans have since withdrawn their candidacy.
