Thomas Ready To "Concede" While Result Is Too Close To Call? WHY?

According to New Times' Stephen Lemmons and the Republic's Laurie Roberts, sources are indicating that Andrew Thomas is planning to "concede" this afternoon.  This, even though there does not seem to be any discernible trend in how the late early ballots are distributed between Thomas and Horne.  Horne's lead went from the 300's on Wednesday to just over 1,000 on Thursday, and has now gone back down to 817 as of 1:40 this afternoon.

Channel 12's Brahm Resnik appropriately pointed this out in a Tweet and asked why.  And, I agree:  even if later votes are more likely to be cast for Horne - presumably because of the late release of the grand jury information - there is still too much unpredictability.  Not much seems to be gained by "conceding" now.  It does not stop the tabulation process, and it does not prevent the state from having to conduct a required recount if the final result is within 200 votes.  It does not free up Horne to start campaigning to any significant degree, and it does not mean that Thomas would not accept the nomination if the final count is in his favor.

So, again: Why?

Andrew Thomas' Morning After Statement: I'll Support Horne If He Wins Nomination

Here is Andrew Thomas' morning after Tweet-linked statement.  No analysis of uncounted votes, but a back atcha to Horne that he will support his primary election opponent if the vote counting ends up counter to his hopes.  Notably, it also might quell any talk of pressing for a challenge if Horne ends up leading outside the required recount zone.

Thomas' full statement:

"The time for debating and tough words in the Republican Primary is over. The time for vote counting is upon us. I appreciated Tom Horne's words earlier in the campaign and just last night when things were not looking his way that he would support me were I to be the nominee. Likewise, if Tom prevails I don't want there to be any doubt that I will support him against the Democrat. Let's see where the vote counting takes us knowing that in the end the Republican Party will offer a nominee that is vastly better than a Democrat counterpart who opposes Senate Bill 1070 and who refuses to challenge ObamaCare by joining other Attorneys General across the U.S."

Most Eyes On the Primary Results For Arizona AG

Both the Democratic and Republican nominees for Arizona Attorney General are still unknown after election night results are tallied.  The early ballots (received by mail in the past few days and dropped off at polling places on Tuesday) may or may not make the results clearer.  At this point (state figures last updated at 5:55a.m.), a required recount would not be conducted on either the Republican or Democratic side.

Here are the current numbers:  Republicans:  (State Schools Supt.) Tom Horne is leading (fmr. Maricopa County Atty.) Andrew Thomas by 0.08% (373 votes);  469,533 Republican ballots have been counted so far.  Democrats: (Fmr. Assistant AG) Felecia Rotellini is ahead of (fmr. State Rep.) David Lujan by 0.54% (1,350 votes); counted Democratic votes to date total 248,488.  (Neither the Green Party nor the Libertarian Party posted a candidate.)

Arizona law REQUIRES a recount if the candidates are separated by less than one-tenth of a percent of the votes cast for those two candidates, or 200 votes - whichever is the lesser number.  If the differential between the two candidates is in between the 200 and the 0.10%, there would not be a required recount, but the official result may be more likely to be the subject of a legal challenge.  (For percentage purposes, the current numbers are 0.07% on the Republican side, and 0.66% on the Democratic.)

Of course, any elector can file a court challenge against the primary election results (within 5 days after official canvass/declaration of results). 

We'll all keep an eye on this one together.

(edited to clarify the 200 vote differential)