{"id":1280,"date":"2026-04-30T21:09:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T21:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/voterguide.local\/?p=1280"},"modified":"2026-05-24T13:37:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T13:37:56","slug":"nirav-dinesh-shah-gov","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/nirav-dinesh-shah-gov\/","title":{"rendered":"Nirav Dinesh Shah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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About the Candidate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Attorney, economist and public health leader; former Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, former Director of the Maine CDC and former Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. CDC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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B.S. from University of Louisville, J.D., M.D. from University of Chicago<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Previous campaigns and elected office(s) held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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None.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I\u2019m running for governor because Mainers deserve leadership that shows up, listens and delivers real results. I\u2019ve traveled across the state hearing about rising costs, housing that\u2019s out of reach and a healthcare system that\u2019s too expensive and too hard to access. I\u2019m running to feed kids, fix housing, fund our healthcare system, fuel the growth of our economy and to safeguard Maine from the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Top three priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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My top priorities are lowering costs and delivering results in people\u2019s daily lives. 1. Tackling the housing crisis by building more affordable homes at scale and supporting first-time homebuyers. 2. Making healthcare more affordable by capping out-of-pocket costs and lowering prescription drug prices so no one has to choose between care and their bills. 3. Safeguarding Maine from the threats of Donald Trump\u2019s extremist agenda that harms Maine communities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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If you could change one thing about how Augusta functions, what would it be and why?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I often say, \u201cI\u2019m nobody that nobody sent,\u201d meaning I\u2019m beholden to no one. If I could change one thing about Augusta, it would be the culture of deference to the status quo and entrenched interests that too often stymie progress. Mainers deserve leadership willing to ask hard questions, challenge outdated ways of doing things and put results ahead of politics. That\u2019s how we deliver real change and restore trust in government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What is one policy area where you disagree with the consensus of most in your party?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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For too long, the Democratic Party has gotten bogged down in process and paperwork, and, as a result, we didn\u2019t build enough. Roads weren\u2019t completed, infrastructure wasn\u2019t modernized, homes weren\u2019t built and costs rose. This is a crucial moment. We need a Democratic Party that builds things, creates jobs and drives progress. We can\u2019t be the party of paperwork. We have to be the party that delivers for working people on the issues they care about most.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What is one issue on which you\u2019d be willing to compromise with the other party\u2019s leaders in Augusta?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Affordability. If people have good ideas to lower costs, build housing and make life more affordable, I\u2019ll listen, no matter what party they come from. The affordability crisis is too urgent for us to sit on the sidelines or get caught up in politics. Mainers expect results, not excuses. I\u2019m willing to work with anyone, Democrat or Republican, who is serious about bringing down costs and delivering real solutions for families across our state.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2023,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Nirav","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"D","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Shah","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":2148,"voter_guide_candidate_age":48,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Visiting professor at Colby College","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"","voter_guide_candidate_education":"","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_state":0,"voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":0,"voter_guide_candidate_time_in_area":"5+ years","voter_guide_candidate_website":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1tIyTYuPqAsuHH0IiryAPXTxnGpIkAv0c","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"2\/2\/2026","voter_guide_candidate_incumbent_years":"","voter_guide_candidate_is_clean_elections":false,"footnotes":""},"vg_party":[1073],"vg_residence_municipality":[361],"class_list":["post-1280","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","vg_party-democratic","vg_residence_municipality-brunswick"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/1280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/candidate"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/1280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3400,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/1280\/revisions\/3400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=1280"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=1280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}