U.S. Judge Sandoval resigns

(AP) - U.S. District Judge Brian Sandoval said Friday he was resigning, opening the possibility that he will return to Nevada politics.

"I have decided to resign my commission as a federal judge effective Sept. 15, 2009," Sandoval said in a statement distributed by Chief Judge Roger Hunt. "It has been a privilege and an honor to serve on the federal bench and I thank my fellow judges, my staff and the entire court family for their support."

Sandoval did not return calls to his office seeking comment.

Sandoval is a former state assemblyman, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commis-

sion and the first Hispanic elected statewide in Nevada.

He was recommended for the federal judgeship by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., with the backing of Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and was nominated by former President George H. Bush.

He assumed the bench in 2005.

In his political career, Sandoval was a seen as a rising star in the Republican party and is viewed as a strong challenger to Gov. Jim Gibbons in next year's GOP primary.

A poll conducted in May for the Las Vegas Review-Journal said only 11 percent of voters surveyed statewide would re-elect Gibbons, a former congressman from Reno in his first term as governor.