With more than 500 voters at WOKV’s Hob Nob Thursday night, we wanted to get a feel for not just the candidates you support, but the issues bringing you to the polls as well.

Far and away, the economy was the answer.

“We gotta do something with the budget, both nationally and locally,” says East Arlington resident Mike Riley.

“What are they gunna do, apart from the rhetoric, to really help small business,” says David Taylor of Ponte Vedra.

And many more answers mirrored those.

But the one theme I picked up on, even large than the economy, was a desire for change.

Nassau County resident Nancy Nagel drove in to Jacksonville for Hob Nob and the straw poll because she felt it was important to get the chance to meet candidates and campaigns first-hand.  And she had a big message for them.

“I want desperately to see this country turn around into a different direction than where it’s heading now,” she says.

For many of you, that change needs to come at the local level, especially in our education system.

“It is a foundation for each and every issue plaguing us today,” says Southside resident Melissa Adams.

She was out encouraging people to be involved in school board races which could sometimes be overshadowed in a presidential election year.

And among the younger generation still working through Jacksonville’s education system, schools were seen as an issue as well.  Cutler Renard is not quite old enough to vote, but still excited about politics and what he believes will be a down-to-the-wire race for the presidency.  He named the economy, education and immigration as the top three concerns among his peers.

Healthcare and government transparency rounded out the list of what you told me is bringing you to the polls and keeping you engaged for this election season.