ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Former Attorney General Janet Reno, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Florida governor, was released from a hospital Thursday after collapsing during a speech in Rochester, N.Y.
Asked if the incident Wednesday night called her decision to run for governor into question, she said, "I don't think so." She pointed out that she has fainted twice before with no lasting effects.
"I feel fine. I got hot about when I started speaking because it was hot up on that corner of the stage," she said. "I got progressively hotter and then I had to sit down, and then I exited -- gracefully or ungracefully, I don't know."
Reno, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, appeared to be in good spirits as she left the hospital, and was expected back home in Miami later in the day.
Doctors called the incident a simple fainting spell, and it was not known if it was related to Parkinson's.
She said she hoped to return to Rochester in the future to finish her speech.
Reno, 63, was addressing a crowd of mostly students at the University of Rochester when her speech began to slow noticeably.
The Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester said Reno had been speaking for about 45 minutes when she told the audience, "You're going to have to excuse me for a minute. I'm going to have to sit down." She then collapsed.
Before the speech, she had attended a fundraiser and a news conference.
Reno was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester where she remained overnight for observation.
Reno -- the first woman to head the U.S. Justice Department -- is the presumed front-runner for the Democratic nomination to run against Florida Gov. Jeb Bush this fall. Reno announced her candidacy in September after several months of traveling the state talking with voters.
She was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1995, but has said it would not prevent her from serving as governor.
Reno has said Parkinson's specialists have told her that she has a mild version of the disease. More than 1 million people in the United States have the disease, according to the American Parkinson Disease Association.
Other high-profile individuals who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's include Pope John Paul II, boxer Muhammad Ali and actor Michael J. Fox.
