Agassi eyed for political foray

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, July 5, 2005 | 10:51 a.m.

A retired Summerlin resident is seeking to draft tennis great and Las Vegas resident Andre Agassi to run for the 3rd Congressional District seat held by Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev.

Gil Eisner, 72, who retired to Las Vegas from Los Angeles five years ago, has not approached Agassi and said he does not know if Agassi would even consider a new career in politics. Eisner launched a "Citizens Congressional Exploratory Committee" to tweak the celebrity's interest, he said. Agassi is the perfect candidate because he has name recognition and a flawless reputation as a philanthropist and a do-gooder in Nevada, Eisner said.

An Agassi spokeswoman was not available today for comment.

Eisner said the Democratic Party has not shown enough initiative in grooming candidates to challenge Porter in a district with nearly equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans.

"You have to drum up some kind of enthusiasm," Eisner said. "You don't do that three months before the election."

Agassi, 35, has not yet retired from a 19-year career in tennis. He has been slowed by injuries and skipped this year's Wimbledon, but he is still ranked No. 6 in the world. Agassi is a registered independent. He has contributed money mostly to Democrats but also to Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which leads national efforts to support House Democratic candidates, is not familiar with the effort to draft Agassi, spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod said. She would not comment on the party's possible interest in his candidacy.

Elrod said there was 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. She would not disclose names.