Put R. Ted Cruz on your list of potential candidates for attorney general, should an opening occur in that office in the next couple of years.

Cruz was until recently the state's solicitor general, working for Attorney General Greg Abbott. He left for private practice a few weeks ago (joining the Morgan Lewis law firm as a partner this week), became a father, and somehow got other Republicans talking about his political future. Abbott hasn't said he's going anywhere, but even the squirrels on the Capitol grounds have heard the rumors that he'd like to run for lieutenant governor or even governor in 2010.