{"id":250924,"date":"2026-07-09T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/09\/patrick-dempsey-addresses-calls-for-him-to-run-for-senate\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T08:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:00:17","slug":"patrick-dempsey-addresses-calls-for-him-to-run-for-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/09\/patrick-dempsey-addresses-calls-for-him-to-run-for-senate\/","title":{"rendered":"Patrick Dempsey addresses calls for him to run for Senate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"byline\">\n<p>        <time itemprop=\"datePublished\" content=\"2026-07-09\" datetime=\"1783584017\" pubdate=\"\">9 July 2026<\/time>\n    <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.femalefirst.co.uk\/patrick-dempsey\/\" class=\"exposure-link \" data-linktrack=\"LinkTracker,articleExposure,patrick-dempsey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Patrick Dempsey<\/a> finds it &#8220;flattering&#8221; he&#8217;s been asked to run for a seat in the US Senate.<\/p>\n<p>                            <\/p>\n<p class=\"image-caption landscape\">Patrick Dempsey has faced calls to run for office<\/p>\n<p>The Grey&#8217;s Anatomy star cares &#8220;deeply&#8221; about his home state of Maine and its residents and while he has given &#8220;real thought&#8221; to questions of him moving into a political career, he&#8217;s ultimtely decided against it for now.<\/p>\n<p>In an op-ed for the Portland Press Herald, he wrote: \u201cOver the past several days, I\u2019ve been asked a question more than once: Would you ever run for the United States Senate?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s flattering, and I don\u2019t take it lightly. I love my home state of Maine. I care deeply about the people who live there and, like so many Americans, I\u2019m concerned about the direction our country is heading.<\/p>\n<p>                      \t\t\t<!-- Dailymotion player (contact: Kutay.vardar@dailymotion.com) --><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I gave it real thought.<\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;Not because I was looking for a new career, but because I asked myself an honest question: Could I make a meaningful difference?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\nQuestioning himself led to the 62-year-old actor thinking about the kind of leadership his state needs.<\/p>\n<p>\nHe mused: &#8220;That question led me to another one I think matters even more. What kind of leadership are we really looking for?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\n\u201cI want someone who leads with empathy. Someone who listens before speaking, who has the courage to work with people they disagree with and who understands that public office isn\u2019t about power. It\u2019s about service.<\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;Most of all, I want integrity. That may sound idealistic today, but it shouldn\u2019t.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\nAfter highlighting the importance of community, healthcare and education, Patrick ultimately ruled himself out of running.<\/p>\n<p>\nHe wrote: \u201cAs I reflected on all of this, I kept coming back to one question: Do I truly want to serve in Congress?<\/p>\n<p>\n\u201cAfter a lot of thought, I realised the answer is no. Not because public service isn\u2019t honourable \u2014 it absolutely is. But because I believe I can contribute more effectively through the life I\u2019ve already built.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\nPatrick &#8211; who founded The Dempsey Center for cancer care and support in 2008 &#8211; is keen to do what he can to make people&#8217;s lives better in other ways.<\/p>\n<p>\nHe wrote: &#8220;Whether you\u2019re an elected official, a teacher, a nurse, a business owner, a parent or a volunteer, service begins with one simple question: How can I make someone else\u2019s life a little better?<\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;That\u2019s the work I want to keep doing. So no, I\u2019m not running for office. But I am asking something of the people who do.<\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;Lead with humility. Tell the truth. Put people before party.<\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;Remember that public office is a privilege not a career path and that leadership isn\u2019t measured by how loudly you speak or how often you\u2019re on television. It\u2019s measured by whether people\u2019s lives are better because you served.<\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;That\u2019s the kind of leadership Maine deserves. It\u2019s the kind of leadership America deserves, too.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\nPatrick&#8217;s op-ed came after Democratic candidate Graham Platner confirmed he was dropping out of the race after being publicly accused of sexual assault, an allegation he has denied.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Pagination --><\/p>\n<p><!-- playbuzz --><br \/>\n<!-- end playbuzz--><\/p>\n<p><!-- \n\n<div data-cn-project=\"femalefirst\">\n    \n<\/div>\n\n --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Outbrain { date: 2018\/06\/08 } --><br \/>\n<!-- Outbrain { date: 2018\/06\/08 } --><\/p>\n<p>    <!-- Outbrain { date: 2018\/06\/08 } --><br \/>\n    <!-- Outbrain { date: 2018\/06\/08 } --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.femalefirst.co.uk\/celebrity\/patrick-dempsey-addresses-calls-run-senate-1447209.html?f=rss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>9 July 2026 Patrick Dempsey finds it &#8220;flattering&#8221; he&#8217;s been asked to run for a seat in the US Senate. Patrick Dempsey has faced calls to run for office The Grey&#8217;s Anatomy star cares &#8220;deeply&#8221; about his home state of Maine and its residents and while he has given &#8220;real thought&#8221; to questions of him [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":250925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[15958,4914],"class_list":{"0":"post-250924","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-make-up","8":"tag-graham-platner","9":"tag-patrick-dempsey"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}