He says it is a move he's always considered, balancing a childhood affinity for media with a love of politics.

But on Tuesday, former WTSP-Ch. 10 anchor Mario Diaz made his political jones official, leaving St. Petersburg's CBS affiliate to take a job as Southeast Regional Communications Director for Arizona GOP Senator John McCain's presidential bid.

"I've alway been attracted to challenge...and people have been telling me I should get into politics for a long time," said Diaz, who recalled speaking at a GOP panel featuring Hispanic journalists in May as a recent spark for the idea of transitioning to the political world. "It's a way to expand my career."

Of course, the move raises the question of when Diaz decided to leave journalism, and whether he was talking to McCain's people when he was interviewing political candidates as a news reporter for the station. Diaz said he talked to McCain's regional campaign manager after interviewing the candidate at his June 5 fundraiser at the Vinoy in St. Petersburg.

"I knew they had needs in the state of Florida, so why not take that opportunity?" he said. "When Barack Obama came to town (in May) I fought hard for those stories...(And) I asked the same questions an anybody else." 

The job offer came less than a week later, on June 11, he said. Diaz's last day at WTSP was Tuesday, and the former reporter said he filed no more political stories after informing the station's general manager on June 11 that he was taking the McCain job.

Diaz, 35, came to the Tampa Bay area in 2002 from Las Vegas, anchoring a revamped version of WTSP's afternoon news show. He moved to mornings in 2004 and then moved from anchoring to reporting for the channel's 11 p.m. newscast. But Diaz said he wasn't choosing politics because of any problems at WTSP, noting that the station had offered him a new, two-year contract right before the McCain job offer came.

"He only did two stories after telling us he was leaving, both very benign," said WTSP spokesman Pete Nikiel. "My understanding is that this came up very quickly."

In the new job, Diaz will deal with his former colleagues from the other side of the lens, though the transition is so sudden -- his orientation is scheduled next week -- he had few details. And he downplayed another possibility; the notion he might run for office someday.

"Whatever would be the best way for me to help the party," he said, sounding like a veteran operative already. "That's what I want to do."