'Grey's Anatomy' star breaks silence as rumors swirl in upended Maine Senate race

Patrick Dempsey has an answer for the people floating his name as an emergency U.S. Senate candidate in Maine: thanks, but no thanks.

The former "Grey's Anatomy" star, a Lewiston native who runs the cancer-focused Dempsey Center, surfaced this week as a possible wild-card contender as Maine Democrats scrambled over the fate of their nominee, Graham Platner. In an op-ed published Wednesday in the Portland Press Herald, Dempsey confirmed he had been asked more than once whether he would run and said he gave it real thought before deciding against it.

He wrote that he concluded he could do more through his nonprofit and the life he has already built, and used the piece to call for leaders who listen, tell the truth, and treat public office as a privilege rather than a career path.

"As I reflected on all of this, I kept coming back to one question: Do I truly want to serve in Congress? After a lot of thought, I realized the answer is no. Not because public service isn’t honorable — it absolutely is. But because I believe I can contribute more effectively through the life I’ve already built," wrote Dempsey.

The opening exists because Platner, who won June's Democratic primary, was accused of sexual assault in a Politico report this week. A former girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, alleged he forced her to have sex over her objections in 2021. Platner has denied the allegation as "categorically false" and called it a coordinated political smear.

The report set off a stampede of Democrats, from Chuck Schumer to Bernie Sanders, urging Platner to step aside so the party could field a stronger challenger to Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Under Maine law, Platner must withdraw by July 13 for Democrats to name a replacement by July 27.