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PHOENIX — Gov. Janet Napolitano refused Wednesday to take her name out of consideration for a job in the Obama administration.

Napolitano expressed annoyance when asked whether she might follow the lead of Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, who took himself out of contention for an appointment rather than turn the state over to a Republican successor.

"Look, let me just say it and get this out of the way: I believe it's for the president-elect to make his Cabinet appointments in the way he sees fit," she said.

"It is his prerogative," Napolitano continued. "I am not campaigning or seeking a job. I like the job I have right now. That's as much as I'm saying right now."

But she stopped short of saying she would stay in Arizona through 2010 even if offered a position in Barack Obama's Cabinet.

Napolitano acknowledged Rendell's similar situation, which led him to say he would not leave at midterm and put his state in the hands of those "who have diametrically opposed philosophic views on the role of government."

That's what would happen here if Napolitano were to leave: Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer would serve out the balance of Napolitano's term.

Brewer already has said things would be different if she were in charge. "I'm certainly not a tax-and-spend elected official," she said.

Obama apparently has chosen Eric Holder, a veteran of the Clinton administration, to be his attorney general. But Napolitano could be in the running for other posts, including secretary of homeland security.

The governor was equally noncommittal when asked if she intends to run for the U.S. Senate in 2010, when incumbent John McCain's seat comes up. And Napolitano cannot constitutionally seek a third term as governor.

"I'm not campaigning for any new job," she said.

Since losing the presidential bid, McCain has reactivated his political action committee, which allows him to raise funds. But he has stopped short of declaring he wants a fifth term in the Senate.