Agassi Not Running For Congress

Andre Agassi has made it official: He's not running for Congress in Nevada's 2006 elections.

Gil Eisner, a retired Summerlin resident, sought to draft Agassi, who lives in Las Vegas, to run for the 3rd Congressional District seat held by Rep. Jon Porter, a Republican. He said Agassi would be perfect because of his name recognition and reputation as a philanthropist.

"While I am flattered by the recent effort to draft me to run for Congress, I presently have no plans to enter the political arena," Agassi said in a statement released Wednesday by R&R Partners on behalf of the Agassi Foundation. "I will continue to focus my efforts on tennis, my foundation and my family."

Eisner had formed a citizens' congressional exploratory committee hoping to get Agassi into the race. He said the Democratic Party hasn't shown enough initiative in grooming candidates to challenge Porter in the swing district, with nearly equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans.

Agassi, 35, is a registered independent. He has contributed money mostly to Democrats, but also to Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, a Republican.

Asked last week about a possible Agassi candidacy, Adrienne Elrod, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said she wasn't aware of Eisner's efforts. She also said there's plenty of time for the party to field a candidate to run against Porter in 2006 and that there are "several strong Democrats" who are potential challengers.