Nirav Shah, the runner-up in the Democratic primary for Maine governor, announces his campaign for the U.S. Senate in Freeport on Thursday. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)
Former public health official Nirav Shah has gathered enough signatures from voters to officially qualify for the Democratic U.S. Senate nominating convention in Maine, his campaign announced over the weekend.
Shah appears to be the first candidate to hit the signature threshold to qualify for the convention, which will be held July 25 in Bangor.
A former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention who was the public face of Maine’s COVID-19 response, Shah is one of seven candidates who have so far filed notices of intent to run with the Maine Democratic Party.
The party is operating on a tight two-week timeline to find a new Senate candidate after Graham Platner, the winner of the June primary, withdrew from the race following an allegation of sexual assault. Platner denied the allegation while acknowledging it would damage his campaign.
Candidates have until Monday, July 20 to gather at least 500 signatures from Democratic voters across at least eight counties and turn them into the party. They also must file notices of intent to run by Wednesday.
About 600 delegates from around the state will vote at the convention to select the next nominee, who will take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.
“Mainers aren’t waiting around, and neither are we,” Shah said in a written statement. “In just a few days, hundreds of Democrats across this state have put their names down because they want a nominee ready to beat Susan Collins in November. This is what grassroots energy looks like, and it’s only the beginning.”
Other candidates who have filed notices of intent so far are: Shenna Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state; David Costello, a former government official in Maine and Maryland; Elizabeth Dickerson, a former state representative; Troy Jackson, a former lawmaker and Maine Senate president; Paige Loud, a graduate student and social worker; and Jordan Wood, a former congressional staffer.
Shah, Bellows and Jackson were all contenders in an extremely close Democratic primary for governor this spring. Shah secured the most first-round votes in the five-way race, but ended up finishing second to former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree in the ranked-choice runoff.
Jackson was third, and Bellows fourth.
Spokespeople for Jackson and Bellows did not immediately respond Monday to questions about whether their campaigns have gathered the requisite number of signatures yet.
This is a developing story.
