Reno still trails in race for governor

Janet Reno, Bill Clinton's attorney general, wason the brink of defeat in the Democratic primary to select a candidate for Florida's state governor.But as morning broke yesterday, she had closed the gap on her opponent, Bill McBride, with 42 per cent of the vote to his 46.

The count was deadlocked yesterday because of hitches at the polling stations. Two years after the presidential election debacle in Florida, the state spent millions replacing its punch-cards with a touch-screen system. But on Tuesday, the machines malfunctioned.

The fiasco was an embarrassment for the state governor, Jeb Bush, the President's brother, who faces the winner of the primary in November. Unofficial results from the state are due in by noon today.

In New Hampshire, John Sununu, the son of the first President Bush's chief of staff, won the Republican primary.