Count state Rep. Jonathan Paton out of next year’s Congressional District 8 race, which will pit U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords against a yet-to-be-determined Republican challenger.

Paton tells me he hopes to support friend Tim Bee, president of state Senate, in the CD 8 race. Bee hasn’t yet announced a candidacy, but has said he’s entertaining the idea of running.

“Could there be a scenario where aliens arrive on the planet and I decide to run? Maybe,” Paton said. “But under the current scenario, it’s not going to happen.”

But count Paton in as a possible candidate for Bee’s Senate seat. He plans to file papers today to form an exploratory committee and start raising money. He can’t announce whether he’s running for sure until after January 1.

Truth be told, this is kind of the “duh” item of the week. All the CD 8 energy is surrounding Bee, but speculation about Paton was still floating around out there.

“I think he’s a great candidate,” Paton said of Bee. “He understands this district and has represented a big chunk of it for a long time.”

Paton continued: “As Senate president (Bee’s) shown, he can work with people from both sides of the aisle, and I think that fits the district. I really can’t say enough good about him. And I’m not saying that just to be political. I mean it. I know him about as good as you can know someone in politics, and I think he would do a great job for Southern Arizona, and he shares many of the values I have.”

“I think he provides (Republicans) the best chance, at the moment, of winning the seat,” Paton said. “I respect him as a friend and as a leader.”

Paton, a 36-year-old Republican who represents conservative Legislative District 30, was high on the list of potential CD 8 candidates soon after Randy Graf lost to Giffords last year. Paton, an Army intelligence officer, left last summer for a six month deployment in Iraq. The move brought him national media coverage, increased name ID and generated ample buzz about him running against Giffords.

But as the year progressed it became apparent that Bee was the party’s favored pick.

Paton is the latest Republican to opt out in CD 8. Also eliminated as candidates: Bruce Ash, Ray Carroll and Graf. There was even talk about minuteman Chris Simcox. But he told me a few weeks ago that he has no interest in Congress.

As this week’s campaign finance disclosures show, Giffords has already raised $940,000. That’s a lot for someone only in office for six months. At some point, Bee needs to get busy with that side of things if he intends to run.