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The close ties are obvious. McBride's new campaign manager, Cathy Kelly, has served as the FEA's director of government relations for 15 years and Tony Welch, the union's communications director, is serving as a campaign spokesman.

The union collected more than $60,000 for McBride by asking its members to write out checks for $20.02, said union President Maureen Dinnen. She said more probably contributed directly to the campaign.

She estimates the union spent $1.5 million on ads designed to give voters background on McBride. In addition, it's backed McBride in newsletters it sends out to each of its 122,000 members.

Republican Party of Florida Chairman Al Cardenas believes the amount spent to help McBride win is much higher.

"They spent over $5 million in the primary -- something that never happened in Florida's political history before," Cardenas said. "They essentially bought themselves a candidate for the general election lock, stock and barrel. They have literally taken over the McBride campaign."

Dinnen said the talk is campaign rhetoric from a party that has a long history of bashing the union.

"It's a very strange attitude among the Bush campaign that teachers should not be active in politics, as if we were second class citizens," Dinnen said. "We think this is the most important election in the past 50 years in Florida and we also think education is on the chopping block."

The union collects $183.50 a year from each of its members, which calculates to more than $20 million a year.

Brogan, a former teacher, principal, school superintendent and education commissioner, said he has dealt with the Florida Education Association for many years in many roles and argues that it is interested in labor issues above quality education.

"I am convinced that while they will continue to bellow that this is about education and Bill McBride is good for education, what they mean is that whoever they support will be good for the union bosses and the dues payers," Brogan said.

McBride responded: "He should be ashamed of saying something like that because the FEA agenda is about education and making our schools work for kids."