Our anonymous buddies at the Republican news release headquarters, a.k.a. Sonoran Alliance blog, are reporting that Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas will run for state attorney general in 2010.

UPDATE: Jason Rose, spokesman and campaign consultant for Thomas, pretty much confirmed the Sonoran Alliance report, which Rose says was probably gleaned from an article in politickeraz.com.

Rose put a small disclaimer in his statement to New Times, saying he only "believed" Thomas would run for attorney general and that the timing would be right.

"He would be smart to take a long, hard look at it," Rose says.

According to a writer with the joke byline, "Hugh Newz," this rumor comes from "well-connected sources."

And you know what? We feel strangely compelled to believe Hugh Newz. The mostly anonymous bloggers at Sonoran Alliance appear to be well-connected, indeed.

Maybe the article was written by Rachel Alexander, the county attorney office's conservative uber blogger, or Jason Rose. Notice how it references the fact that Thomas was the Republican nominee for attorney general 2002, but doesn't mention that he lost to Terry Goddard? Pure PR-style writing.

We're pretty sure voters didn't elect Thomas because they wanted to see him leave office in the middle of his second term, but Thomas is young and ambitious -- he apparently wants to lay the groundwork for the future.

Rose says Thomas will still be "fighting bad guys" if he wins the attorney general's seat, and Maricopa County residents will support the bid.

Unfortunately for Thomas, his shot at the big league will come later than he and his supporters had suspected. Numerous articles this year referred to Thomas as a contender for  governor's in 2010. But Janet Napolitano screwed up that chance for him.

Thomas' departure would be filled by the Board of Supervisors.

Maybe County Supervisor Don Stapley might still be around by then to help decide who will prosecute his criminal case. -- Ray Stern