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Unless Patrick Dempsey has a tattoo nobody knows about, it’s hard to imagine a better bet to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine.

Along with his deep roots in the state — Dempsey was born in the old mill town of Lewiston, raised in the rural hill country of Turner and now owns an estate in Kennebunkport, the moneyed beach enclave where the Bushes famously summered — he’s got more name recognition than any other candidate and definitely looks more like a senator than anybody else in the race — or, for that matter, in Washington.

The silver hair, the square jawline, the piercing green eyes — the “I Had a McDreamy” campaign placards practically write themselves.

Alas, it was not to be — the 60-year-old Grey’s Anatomy star has made it clear he’s not interested in politics. But for a few days earlier this month, it looked as if Susan Collins might have had a real fight on her hands. Even before the oyster fisherman with the Totenkopf chest ink officially stepped out of the race, Dempsey’s name was being floated by an unidentified Democratic group polling Maine voters about possible replacements.

Nobody knows who paid for the survey or how he fared, but one local observer thinks Dempsey had a real shot. “A handsome guy like that, pretty pristine record, lots of charity work,” Steve Robinson, editor-in-chief of the conservative-leaning Maine Wire, tells Rambling Reporter. “I’d put him in the 55, 60 percent range.” A July 6 Wire story referencing the survey further fanned a budding draft Dempsey movement. Suddenly, the actor was being inundated with questions about whether he might actually run.

He answered in a July 8 Portland Press Herald op-ed titled “Why I’m Not Running for U.S. Senate,” saying he had given the idea “real thought” but decided he could do more good through the Dempsey Center, the cancer support organization he founded in Lewiston. “I realized the answer is no,” he wrote.

That still leaves Maine Democrats searching for a candidate. Stephen King is an obvious possibility, although his online political commentary can make Cujo seem statesmanlike. Anna Kendrick was born in Portland, but at 40, she probably has better things to do. Then there’s Martha Stewart, who owns a home up the coast. Her slogan writes itself, too: Make Augusta Tidy Again.

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Also in Rambling Reporter:

The Late Show’s illuminated marquee was auctioned off after Stephen Colbert’s talk show was yanked off the air — and it has landed at a bistro on La Cienega; Newlywed actors Tom Holland and Zendaya are co-starring together in back-to-back summer features — a Hollywood first.

This story appeared in the July 22 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.