WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic officials say that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is a leading contender for the job of secretary of homeland security in President-elect Barack Obama's administration.

These officials caution that no final decision has been made on the job involving the massive department created by the Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

The officials agreed to discuss the situation on grounds of anonymity because of the private nature of the screening process for Obama's Cabinet. Napolitano, who once was Arizona's attorney general, was among the first of the Democratic governors to commit to Obama's presidential bid.