Florida Senate, District 38
Represents District 38 in the Florida Senate; votes on state laws and the state budget. Term: 4 years.
Partly verified. Either the November opponent could not be confirmed from available sources, or only a few positions are documented. Confirm the full candidate list on your county sample ballot; unknown positions are shown as such.
How we verified who is on the ballot
Ballotpedia lists incumbent Alexis Calatayud (R) in the Nov. 3, 2026 general election; Florida Politics' post-primary 'races to watch' piece says she faces a well-funded Democratic entrepreneur surnamed Lamondin (first name not captured in the snippet) ; . Verify the Democrat's full name. Research limitation (Sept 2026): Ballotpedia, Wikipedia, dos.fl.gov, floridaelectionwatch.gov, Florida Politics and all news sites were blocked for fetching in this sandbox and the WebSearch budget was capped, so the roster is built only from search-result snippets; write-in/NPA qualifiers could not be checked. Positions are null because no snippet contained an explicit issue statement.
Debates and forums
- No debate or candidate forum has been scheduled in this race (checked Oct. 17, 2026). Checked Vote411's Florida debates-and-forums calendar, the League of Women Voters of Florida newsroom, the county Leagues, chambers of commerce, Tiger Bay clubs and local NAACP branches; every legislative forum they list was held during the primary.
Candidates
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Alexis Calatayud
Calatayud, a Miami Republican, won the southeast Miami-Dade SD 38 seat in 2022 as a first-time candidate and is seeking re-election.
Richard Lamondin Jr.
Florida Politics describes Calatayud's Nov. 3 opponent as a credible, well-funded Democratic entrepreneur surnamed Lamondin. Full name and background not captured in search snippets.
Jeffrey Solomon
Jeffrey "Doc" Solomon is a chiropractor from Pinecrest who says he has served South Florida patients for more than 40 years and has taught future health care professionals. He is running with no party affiliation against Republican incumbent Alexis Calatayud and Democrat Richard Lamondin. He previously ran for the Flo…
Side-by-side on the major issues
Each row is a statement. The chips show how each candidate's stated positions or record relate to that statement. Expand a row to read the evidence and sources. "No public position found" means we could not find a statement or record on the topic, not that the candidate has none.
| Issue | Alexis Calatayud Republican | Richard Lamondin Jr. Democratic | Jeffrey Solomon No Party Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Property taxesFlorida should eliminate or sharply reduce homestead property taxes, even if local governments must cut services or find other revenue. | Leans agree· based on record Voted for CS/HJR 1-F (2026), the June 2026 joint resolution that placed Amendment 3 on the ballot to raise the non-school homestead exemption to $250,000 by 2028 and let counties and cities exempt homesteads entirely; because the vote sent the question to voters rather than cutting taxes itself, a vote for it is coded as leaning toward sharply reducing homestead property taxes rather than as full agreement. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Property insuranceThe state should intervene more directly in the property-insurance market (rate caps, expanding Citizens, stricter insurer regulation) rather than relying mainly on market-based reforms. | Leans disagree· based on record Voted for SB 2-A (Dec. 2022), the December 2022 property-insurance law that ended one-way attorney fees and assignment of benefits and created a state reinsurance program, a market-based approach; a vote for it is coded as leaning against more direct state intervention. | No public position found | Leans disagree· stated position Solomon calls the cost of property insurance one of the central problems facing District 38 families, but says he would attack it through transparency and competition rather than by describing direct state intervention such as rate caps or expanding Citizens. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Leans agree· based on record Voted for CS/SB 102 (2023), the 2023 Live Local Act that put $711 million into state housing programs, required local governments to allow multifamily housing in commercial areas when at least 40 percent of units are affordable, and created property-tax exemptions for affordable developments; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward more government action on housing. | Strongly agrees· stated position Would treat housing as critical infrastructure and expand first-time-homebuyer credits and housing vouchers. | Leans agree· stated position Solomon lists housing affordability among his campaign's core issues and says he would support affordable homeownership and make owning a home more attainable, without naming specific programs. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted for SB 2-C (2025), the February 2025 special-session immigration law that created a State Board of Immigration Enforcement, made entering Florida as an unauthorized immigrant a state crime and required local cooperation with federal detention. | No public position found | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted against SB 300 (2023), the 2023 law limiting most abortions to six weeks of pregnancy. | No public position found | No public position found |
| GunsGun laws should be stricter (keep the red-flag law and the age-21 purchase rule; expand background checks) rather than looser (permitless or open carry, lower purchase age). | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted for HB 543 (2023), the 2023 law allowing adults to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. | Strongly agrees· stated position Lamondin supports age limits on gun purchases and firearm licensing requirements, according to Florida Politics' report on his endorsement by Gabby Giffords; he tied the issue to school safety. | No public position found |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | Leans agree· stated position Cites securing $45 million a year to expand KidCare and leading $30 million bridge funding for the HIV drug assistance program. | Strongly agrees· stated position Wants every family to have access to an affordable public option, capped out-of-pocket costs and expanded mental-health services. | Leans agree· stated position Solomon, a health care provider, says he would work to lower health insurance premiums, cut prescription drug costs, expand telehealth and mobile health services and improve access to mental health and preventive care. He does not specifically address Medicaid expansion or ACA subsidies. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted for HB 1 (2023), the 2023 law that made every Florida student eligible for a state-funded scholarship usable at private schools or for home education. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | No public position found | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position Solomon says protecting Florida's environment is one of the policy areas he is personally passionate about and names protecting the Everglades and Biscayne Bay as a campaign goal. He does not discuss trade-offs with development. |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Leans agree· stated position Says she opposed a House effort to lower the Miami-Dade Commission vote needed to move the Urban Development Boundary and amended HB 399 to keep local control. | Leans agree· stated position Lamondin has criticized the Live Local Act for giving developers too much power over local decisions, per Florida Politics. | No public position found |
| MarijuanaRecreational marijuana should be legal for adults. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Elections & votingVoting should be made easier (mail voting, drop boxes, restoring voting rights) rather than adding new restrictions. | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted for SB 7050 (2023), the 2023 elections law that raised penalties and shortened deadlines for third-party voter-registration groups and changed vote-by-mail and voter-roll procedures. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Gender identity lawsFlorida's laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors and classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity should remain in place. | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted for SB 254 (2023), the 2023 law barring gender-affirming medical treatment for minors and restricting it for adults. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Energy & utilitiesGovernment should promote renewable energy and tighten oversight of utility rate increases, even at the expense of fossil-fuel production. | Leans disagree· based on record Voted for CS/CS/HB 1645 (2024), the 2024 energy law that removed climate change as a priority of state energy policy, repealed several renewable-energy goals and grant programs, banned offshore wind turbines in state waters and eased regulation of natural-gas pipelines; a vote for it is coded as leaning against promoting renewable energy. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Trump administrationI approve of the direction of the Trump administration. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
Where they sit on the map
Each candidate is placed by the average of their documented stances. It is a summary of the table above, not an extra judgment.
Richard Lamondin Jr.Jeffrey SolomonHow the axes are computed
Each axis is the average of a candidate's coded stances (+2 to −2) on a fixed set of statements, so it comes straight from the documented positions and nothing else. A candidate needs at least three documented statements on an axis to be placed.
Economic issues (toward "Smaller government (lower taxes, less spending)"): Taxes & spending (agree), Property taxes (agree), Health care (disagree), Housing affordability (disagree), Property insurance (disagree), Energy & utilities (disagree), Social Security & Medicare (disagree), Teacher and staff pay (disagree).
Social & legal issues (toward "Conservative side of the statements"): Immigration (agree), Abortion (disagree), Guns (disagree), Education & school choice (agree), Elections & voting (disagree), Crime & policing (agree), Gender identity laws (agree), Marijuana (disagree), Environment & water (disagree), Trump administration (agree), Library and classroom materials (agree), School safety approach (agree).
| Candidate | Economic issues | Social & legal issues |
|---|---|---|
| Alexis Calatayud | 0.20 (5 statements) | 1.33 (6 statements) |
| Richard Lamondin Jr. | not enough data | not enough data |
| Jeffrey Solomon | -0.33 (3 statements) | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Alexis Calatayud
- Poll — A Democratic firm, Impact Research, released an Oct. 5-8 poll of 400 likely voters showing Calatayud and Lamondin tied at 40%, Solomon at 4%, 15% undecided (margin of error 4.9 points).
Richard Lamondin Jr.
- — Says his own preschool bills rival rent and his insurance premiums have nearly tripled; campaign focuses on insurance costs, health-care access and public-school funding.
- Poll — A Democratic firm, Impact Research, released an Oct. 5-8 poll showing Lamondin and Calatayud tied at 40%; Lamondin's campaign promoted the result.
Jeffrey Solomon
- Public schools — Solomon says he would strengthen public schools by increasing per-student funding and teacher pay. His survey does not address private-school vouchers.
- Transit and traffic — He says he would expand rapid transit and Metrorail service to reduce traffic congestion in Miami-Dade.