Tennis great Agassi not running for Congress - 網球

from:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2005/jul/13/071310101.html
July 13, 2005

Tennis great Agassi not running for Congress

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Tennis great Andre Agassi made it official
Wednesday - he's not running for Congress in Nevada's 2006 elections.

Gil Eisner, a retired Summerlin resident, had sought to draft Agassi,
who lives in Las Vegas, to run for the 3rd Congressional District seat
held by Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev. He said he'd 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.

"I will continue to focus my efforts on tennis, my foundation and my
family," he added in a statement released by R&R Partners on behalf of
the Agassi Foundation.

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

Agassi, 35, has had a 19-year career in tennis and is ranked No. 6 in the
world. A registered independent, he has contributed money mostly to
Democrats but also to Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

Democrats poured money into the district last year, backing former casino
executive Tom Gallagher in hopes the race would help them take control of
the House. But Porter emerged a 54-41 percent winner over Gallagher.

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.

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