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It didn't take long for Republicans to start gossiping about who will run against Democrat Gabrielle Giffords for the Congressional District 8 seat in '08 — they've been doing so since before she won.

And in an interview with Notebook this week, the outgoing chairman of the state Republican Party, Matt Salmon, made an early pitch for the name that keeps rising to the top of the list: state Sen. Tim Bee, an East Side resident and incoming president of the Senate.

"He's one of the first people we need to be courting for that seat next time," said Salmon, who said he imagines Bee would have beaten Giffords had he run this year.

Even though Bee is pretty conservative, "he's not a name-caller," Salmon said. "He's not a lightning rod. He's someone who is seen as a unifier."

Bee and Giffords are old schoolmates — not to mention former legislativemates. A race between the two could be interesting.

Bee has said he's considering a run, though he hasn't yet decided one way or another. Running might mean having to give up his obligations as Senate president after only one session.

Giffords' Republican opponent this time around, conservative Randy Graf (who won the position of fourth vice chair of the county party last week), has said another run against Giffords is unlikely.

"I think it's very, very important for Republicans to pick people who can win in the general," Salmon said. "I have lots of respect for the candidates who ran. But Jim Kolbe represented (District 8) for years and years and years, and I believe someone who was more in touch with his ideology would have been better."

Meanwhile, Giffords reports that she has been assigned the D.C. office once occupied by Lyndon B. Johnson, the former Dem-ocratic president and Texas congressman and senator. The office is on the fifth floor of the Cannon House Office Building.

Since Giffords will be a freshman, it's not the most "hoity-toity" office, she jokes. But she's not complaining, emphasizing that "it's totally fine." And the added history makes it neat, too, she said.

Janet: Show me the money

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, along with the nation's other governors, wants to be part of the federal government's budgeting process.

That's what she told the Bush administration in a recent letter. Napolitano was acting on behalf of the National Governors Association, of which she is chair.

"We strongly encourage you to work with governors in advance of proposing reforms to state-federal programs," they wrote.

It's not the first time Napolitano has politely harped on the federal government. She once sent a bill to the feds for the state's costs associated with illegal immigration.