Friday, Mar 9, 2012    Text size: 

BOCA RATON, Fla. — FriendFinder CEO Marc Bell is considering running for Congress.

Bell is focusing on the Palm Beach-Broward District 22 seat, where Democrats Lois Frankel and Kristin Jacobs and Republican Adam Hasner have opened campaigns.

The seat represents those from Fort Launderdale, Fla., to Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., along the coast. It extends westward as far as Coral Springs, Fla.

U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, represents the district now but plans to run in a new district to the north.

Bell, who wasn't available for XBIZ comment, is registered with no party affiliation but told the local press he’d run as a Democrat.

 “The way I look at the world, like most Americans I’m middle of the road,” Bell said today. He says he hasn’t set a timetable for making a decision.  I don’t want to be just another politician. The question is, can I make a difference?”

Bell, 43, not only is CEO of FriendFinder, which operates more than two dozen social network sites and Penthouse magazine, but he also acts as its president and is a director.

He’s involved in a variety of other business ventures, with executive directorships at Armour Residential REIT Inc. and Marc Bell Capital Partners. He also has been an investor and co-producer of several Broadway plays, including the Tony Award-winning "Jersey Boys" and "August: Osage County."