By Fergal Parkinson BBC correspondent in Miami

The former US Attorney General, Janet Reno, has lost in her bid to win the Democratic nomination for governor of Florida.

Reno says she will accept the defeat

She was beaten by a relatively unknown political newcomer, lawyer Bill McBride.

The final vote tally comes a week after the election, which was marred by voting difficulties and brought back memories of the problems experienced in the state during the 2000 presidential elections.

Miss Reno, who is deeply disappointed by the result, has said she will accept it without a challenge.

She now plans to make election reform in Florida her crusade in the coming months.

Cuban factor

This was one of the closest elections in Florida's history.

Rival McBride had surged in popularity in the past few weeks

Despite gaining more than 3,000 extra votes over the weekend, Miss Reno could not erase the 5,000 vote lead by Bill McBride.

Mr McBride, Tampa lawyer and political newcomer, will now face Jeb Bush for the governor of Florida in November.

Critics of Miss Reno say her campaign failed by attempting to embrace too many minority groups, like Miami's gay community, while Mr McBride concentrated on winning support from traditional Democratic strongholds.

Miss Reno also lost the vote of Florida's Cuban population.

They are a still angry about when - as attorney general - she ordered the deportation of Elian Gonzalez, the young boy who was found in the sea and taken from relatives in the US by federal agents and sent back to Cuba.

The election was also not without its problems.

The ballot was marred with equipment glitches.

Despite $32 million being spent on new touch screen voting machines, many of them did not work.