Rep. Rick Renzi. R-Ariz., is “looking at” the prospect of resigning his office in response to an FBI public-corruption investigation.

On Tuesday, he told The Hill, a newspaper that covers the Washington political scene, that he was considering leaving office.

He has denied any wrongdoing, but has stepped down, at least temporarily, from his three committee assignments.

Renzi’s plight and his recent talk of resigning has Arizona political leaders talking themselves — about how to replace him if he goes.

Should he resign as one of Arizona’s eight U.S. representatives, his office would remain empty for three to five months before a successor would be selected.

Gov. Janet Napolitano’s top aides have been “refreshing their recollections” during the past few days on the procedure to fill such a vacancy, her general counsel, Tim Nelson, said Wednesday.

Brett Mecum, a spokesman for the Arizona Republican Party, said the decision about whether Renzi should resign his office should be left to the three-term Republican lawmaker.

“We’re going to wait to see what happens and we’re hoping the Democrats lay off the attacks and let the investigators investigate. We’ll take this one step at a time,” Mecum said.

The procedure for replacing a U.S. representative who leaves midterm is spelled out in state law.

The governor is required to call a special election in the event a vacancy occurs more than six months before the next general election. The next general elections are 19 months off, in November 2008.

A special primary election is required to be held within 75 to 105 days after the vacancy, followed by a special general election 35 to 45 days later, Nelson said. There is no requirement that the elections would have to be held on Tuesdays, on which elections traditionally fall.

The process would produce a successor within 110 to 150 days of the vacancy.

Arizona’s District 1, which Renzi represents, is one of the largest districts in the country. It spans across the northern and eastern regions of the state and covers more than 58,000 square miles. It takes in Flagstaff, Prescott, Florence and Safford.

The three-to-five month timeline built into the law takes into consideration the time required to mount a political campaign across such a large district, Nelson said.

If a vacancy occurs during the final six months of a representative’s term, the office would simply remain empty until the next regularly scheduled general election, Nelson said.

The FBI is investigating Renzi for the role he played in potential land exchanges involving property once owned by a former business partner and campaign contributor.