TALLAHASSEE – State Sen. Victor Crist and former Hillsborough County Commissioner Chris Hart III are among the latest Bay-area residents to file applications for the post of Hillsborough County supervisor of elections.

Gov. Charlie Crist – no relation to Sen. Crist – received the latter’s application for the elections supervisor position late Tuesday and Hart’s application on Monday. Both are Republicans from Tampa. The governor must appoint a replacement for Phyllis Busansky, a Democrat elected elections supervisor in 2008 who died last month. There are 14 applicants, a majority of whom are Republicans.

Sen. Crist served in the state House from 1992 to 2000 and in the state Senate since then, but must leave in 2010 due to term limits.

Crist is also president of Metropolitan Communications, an advertising agency, and heads the University Area Community Development Corp., a nonprofit agency he founded.

Hart served as a Hillsborough County commissioner from 1994-2002. A U.S. Army veteran, he is now a business consultant and CEO of Hart Enterprises. Hart has served on the county’s elections canvassing board.

Other new applicants include Janet Dougherty, an environmental consultant who applied for the position in 2003 but lost to Buddy Johnson; Liana Fox, a Hillsborough Community College professor from Temple Terrace; Gary Santti, a civil engineer from Apollo Beach; Daniel Ballister, a public affairs specialist; and Allen Strauss, an accountant from Tampa.