Since the age of President Andrew Jackson, patronage has been a prized privilege that executives have used to maintain and reward the support of their most fervent followers.

And now many are watching to see whether Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running for the U.S. Senate next year, will follow or buck tradition when he chooses an interim supervisor of elections for Hillsborough County. Either way, he risks alienating voters he will need in his Senate bid.

The supervisor's job came open Tuesday when Phyllis Busansky, a Democrat, was found dead of natural causes in a St. Augustine hotel room. Busansky was a popular and charismatic politician who had been in office just five months.

Political tradition says Crist, a Republican, will choose Busanky's successor from the ranks of the GOP. The governor has drawn a challenge from conservative Republican Marco Rubio, a former speaker of the state House, in the race for the U.S. Senate seat.

"The Republicans are going to look at this as a test of loyalty to the party," said Darryl Paulson, a former political science professor at the University of South Florida-St. Petersburg. "Are you going to appoint one of your own? Certainly there's going to be some pressure on him to do what I think is the traditional thing.

Johnson Spent $2 Million On Voter Education

TAMPA - With millions of dollars at his disposal and his re-election in jeopardy, Hillsborough Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson launched a voter education campaign last year unique in its scope and extravagance. The smiling supervisor's likeness was on colorful brochures mailed to voters. His name was broadcast on radio in English and Spanish.

The campaign ostensibly was to educate voters about the change in voting machines from touch-screen to optical scan mandated by the state Legislature. Johnson spent about $2 million in county and federal funds on the education effort, far more than surrounding counties.

He also left his successor, Phyllis Busansky, with just $300,000 in the elections office account out of $3 million the county commission appropriated to cover operations through Sept. 30.