Other articles by C.j. Karamargin:

Lawmakers face 50 bills that deal with border Bill: Migrant laws must be enforced Phoenix-area voters remember their ID Ignore voter registration ruling, state official says Greene stops run for Ariz. governor U.S. panel says voters don't have to prove citizenship Kolbe: Real ports issue is container inspection Drivers' use of cell phones faulted Napolitano starts bid for re-election; 12 others in, so far C.J. Karamargin: A sea change? Grijalva, Kyl in agreement on ports issue

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Moderate Republicans in Southeastern Arizona's 8th Congressional District may have found the candidate of their dreams to succeed Jim Kolbe.

Longtime political mover and shaker Mike Hellon has decided to enter the race, saying he has what it takes to stave off a Democratic challenge and keep the seat in GOP hands.

"I consider myself a moderate conservative," the 63-year-old corporate tax consultant told the Notebook. "I think that's what most of the (district's) electorate is."

A former chairman of the Arizona Republican Party and Republican national committeeman, Hellon was toiling away in the party vineyard well before the Republican electoral harvests of 1980s and '90s. If anything, the guy has been around.

Hellon has attended every presidential nominating convention since 1976 and is a known figure in Washington and Phoenix, as well as Tucson, his home for the past 23 years. Connections like that will help when it comes to raising money.

But this congressional contest will be far from a cakewalk for Hellon, who will square off against Mike Jenkins and Randy Graf in the September primary. Hellon dismisses the former as not having the kind of broad support needed to win the primary and the latter as unable to prevail in the general.

"A vote for Randy Graf in the primary is a vote for Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House," he said, referring to the top Democrat in the House.

Hellon has run for office only once before, 20 years ago, in an unsuccessful bid to join the Catalina Foothills School District board. But all that toiling has given him a high level of name ID, and it doesn't hurt to have an ex as a state lawmaker. Voters are used to seeing the name Hellon on the ballot and in the news.

Toni Hellon, a senator from District 26, ran Kolbe's campaign in 2004. This year, she's not only solidly behind her former hubby, but part of his "kitchen cabinet" of top advisers. "He would make a great member of Congress," she said.

Perhaps, but the race is far from over. Judi White, chairwoman of the Pima County Republican Party, expects more hats will be tossed into the ring before too long. "It's not over yet," she said.

Playboy magazine has finally decided to grace its pages with a pair of Arizonans who don't live in a sorority at a major state university.

Sen. John McCain and Rep. Jeff Flake of Mesa — fully clothed — each earned a glowing mention in the Hugh Hefner publication for telling it like it is.

"They are the rarest of politicians, those who dare to say what they mean and mean what they say," the magazine says of the two Republicans in an article appearing just a few staple-free pages away from Miss February.

Article author and CNN political analyst Jeff Greenfield enlists McCain and Flake into what he dubs the "No-Bull(expletive deleted) Caucus," 10 lawmakers worthy of praise for "their willingness to speak (more or less) plain English in a Washington world where the official language is Bloviation: a tongue that extends a simple sentence into a multisyllabic assault on common sense."

McCain we all know. Flake is less of a force of nature, especially south of the Gila River. But Google the one-time Mormon missionary and what comes up will be a raft of references to his fiscal conservatism and efforts to lift the ban on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba.

Other caucus members include Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and Republican Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana. Both made news recently: Obama for standing by Sen. Hillary Clinton after she told a black audience that the House of Representatives was "run like a plantation," and Pence for backing the bid by Rep. John Shadegg of Phoenix to be the next House majority leader.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Pederson comes to Tucson today to speak about education issues. Catch him at noon in the plaza outside of the University of Arizona Student Union.

Pederson, the former chairman of the state Democratic Party, faces two-term Republican incumbent Sen. Jon Kyl in November.