More than 2,000 community leaders joined Governor Jeb Bush and other top state and local candidates to fill Loch Haven Park yesterday for the Orlando Regional Chamber’s one-of-a-kind political event.

The Akerman Senterfitt/Sprint Regional HobNob is the only event of the political season that brings so many candidates and constituents together in an informal “Politics in the Park” environment. Candidates from the School Board to the Governor’s mansion could be found milling through the crowd of business and community leaders shaking hands and stumping for votes. The event took place under the leadership of Honorary Master of Ceremonies and Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty.

“To see Governor Jeb Bush walking the grounds, campaigning for votes one constituent at a time is really something special,” says the Chamber’s Vice President of Public Policy Mike Ketchum. “Republicans, Democrats and candidates from several other political parties were all doing the same thing. This is the true spirit of democracy -- all candidates on the same level, meeting their supporters and opponents. Everyone exchanging views face-to-face.”

Before the hobnobbing began, attendees had a chance to participate in the Chamber’s annual straw poll. The informal vote gives candidates and observers a good gauge of the business community’s stance on political races, constitutional amendments and other community issues.

Bush faired well against Democratic candidate Bill McBride in the Governor’s race. The sitting Governor received 65% of the vote while McBride got the nod from 34.9% of voters.

Of the 1,248 votes cast, 61.5% came from voters identified as Republicans while 29.7% were Democrats. 8.7% of voters chose “other” as their party affiliation.

The race for Attorney General was close, with Republican candidate Charlie Crist netting 51.3%, while Democrat “Buddy” Dyer captured 48.6%.

Candidates John Mica, Ric Keller and Tom Feeney each won comfortably in their races for U.S. House of Representatives seats. Races for state House and Senate mostly followed the party affiliation of the crowd.

When asked about two of the proposed Constitutional Amendments on the November ballot, opinion was mixed. Voters disagreed with measures to mandate reductions in class size and a statewide pre-Kindergarten program, but both lost by slim margins -- about 8 and 4 percent, respectively. If tax increases and cuts to state programs are required to pay for the amendments, HobNob attendees would prefer to see increases in alcohol and tobacco taxes with cuts in welfare programs.

In other ballot questions, voters overwhelmingly favor a 1/2-cent sales tax increase to fund transportation improvements and a measure to construct a Light Rail or Commuter Rail system in Central Florida. Education is the most important issue to the HobNob voters, while 76% of the voters think the region is moving in the “right direction.”

Click here to see a complete breakdown of the straw poll results.

Click here to view photos from this exciting event.