Buttons brought Eric Cannon to Tampa.

Cannon, from St. Louis, travels the country selling them. This week the theme is Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan with a hint of Ron Paul.

Selling buttons is how Cannon makes ends meet. He started selling sports-themed buttons with a friend about eight years ago and now hawks all kinds.

Cannon said he can typically sell between 100 to 150 buttons at $5 each. Although this week sales are a bit slower.

“There’s no crowds. Downtown Tampa’s just not that big a place,” Cannon said. “It’s sparse at best.”

From button sales, Cannon compares the Republican ticket this election year to the last, where running mate Sarah Palin was more popular than ticket leader John McCain.

“People are more excited about Ryan than Romney,” he said.

Cannon said the Ron Paul buttons were selling well. He just hopes to be able to cover costs.

His next stop is Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention. He does not know what will be on the buttons he will sell there, but said it only takes about a day to have them made.

He expects it to be a button seller's bonanza. 

“Carolina’s always been good,” Cannon said.