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.

Like many other Democrats who are jumping in officially following Platner’s exit Wednesday evening, Shah was essentially already in the race. On Tuesday, he was doing interviews and calling for debates and an open process.

But Thursday’s comments, which were posted to social media, cemented his status as a candidate.

“Establishment politicians have failed us,” Shah said on X. “To defeat Susan Collins, we need an outsider who is not afraid to take on the broken system she has spent decades upholding.”

Before running for governor, Shah led Maine through the Covid-19 pandemic, something that has given him an incredibly high name ID statewide. He’s 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.

“I’m proud to have dedicated my career to public service, and to have delivered for Mainers in our darkest times,” Shah said in his post. “Now, in this unprecedented moment, I’m ready to unite our party and fight for you once again.”

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