Candidate Alexis Maria Calatayud, Florida Senate District 38

State Sen. Alexis Maria Calatayud, a Republican, is asking voters to return her to the Florida Senate for District 38 in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. The district covers a large part of southern Miami-Dade County, including Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest and parts of Homestead. Two challengers appear on the ballot with her: Democrat Richard Lamondin Jr. and Jeffrey “Doc” Solomon, who has no party affiliation. Calatayud won the seat in 2022 in her first run for office.

At a Glance

Office: Florida State Senator
District: Senate District 38, part of southern Miami-Dade County
Party: Republican (REP)
Incumbent: Yes, first elected in 2022
Opponents on the ballot: Richard Lamondin Jr. (DEM), Jeffrey “Doc” Solomon (NPA)
Campaign website: alexiscalatayud.com

Background

Her official Florida Senate biography says Calatayud was born in Miami. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida International University in 2017, served as FIU’s student government president and is a voting member of the FIU Board of Trustees. When she won her seat, Florida Politics reported that she double-majored in political science and international relations, served two terms as student body president and was 28 years old. The same report described her as a self-described “lifelong Republican” who had worked for former Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.

Before she ran, Calatayud worked in education policy and legislative staffing. Ballotpedia lists her as a director at the Florida Department of Education, a legislative aide in the Florida House and campaign manager for former state Rep. Vance Aloupis in 2018 and 2020. Florida Politics reported that she had been director of public policy and programs at the Department of Education. She first filed to succeed Aloupis in the House, then switched to the Senate race when Republicans rearranged their 2022 candidates.

Her campaign website describes her as the granddaughter of Cuban political asylum seekers. It says she served as chief lobbyist and legislative affairs director at the Department of Education during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also lists two current roles: a seat on the Jackson Memorial Health System’s Public Health Trust and a job as community engagement liaison for the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

In the Senate she chairs the Education Postsecondary Committee and is vice chair of the Education Pre-K-12 Committee, according to the Senate website. She also sits on the appropriations committees for higher education and for pre-K-12 education, and on Fiscal Policy, Health Policy, Regulated Industries and the Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight. Her district office is at Miami Dade College’s Kendall Campus. Florida Politics reported in April 2026 that she co-chairs the Florida chapter of the Future Caucus, a bipartisan group of younger lawmakers, with Democratic state Rep. Kevin Chambliss of Homestead.

In Their Own Words

In September 2026 the South Dade News Leader published Calatayud’s answers to its candidate questionnaire. Asked why she is running, she wrote:

“I hear from families who are feeling squeezed by the cost of housing, insurance, child care and other expenses.”

Alexis Calatayud, South Dade News Leader candidate profile, Sept. 4, 2026

On development and the environment, the same questionnaire quotes her:

“Growth and conservation should never be viewed as competing priorities.”

Alexis Calatayud, South Dade News Leader candidate profile, Sept. 4, 2026

Asked what sets her apart from the other candidates:

“I know how to leverage political power in Tallahassee so our shared values play an oversized role in shaping policy and funding. Our neighbors deserve results, not political performances.”

Alexis Calatayud, South Dade News Leader candidate profile, Sept. 4, 2026

In 2023 she presented the first Live Local Act to a Senate committee. The News Service of Florida, in a story the News Leader published, quoted her on its purpose:

“We need to make sure Floridians can live close to good jobs, schools, hospitals and the critical centers of their communities in a way that fits comfortably within their household budgets.”

Alexis Calatayud, quoted in the South Dade News Leader (News Service of Florida), Feb. 2023

In March 2026 she described her bill to update the law again:

“This particular iteration continues our commitment to increase the attainable housing stock across the state.”

Alexis Calatayud, quoted by Florida Politics, March 2, 2026

Record and Priorities

Housing and the Live Local Act

Calatayud is best known in Tallahassee as the Senate sponsor of the Live Local Act. In 2023, as chair of the Senate Community Affairs Committee, she presented the original bill (SB 102). According to the News Service of Florida, it carried a $711 million price tag. It offered incentives for affordable housing, overrode some local zoning, density and height rules, and barred local rent control. Democrats on the committee questioned the rent-control ban and the bill’s definition of “affordable.”

The law has been amended since. In 2026 Calatayud carried a third update (SB 1548). Florida Politics reported that it would require local governments to allow qualifying multifamily or mixed-use projects in more zoning categories when at least 40% of the units stay affordable for 30 years. It would also bar them from requiring rezonings or variances for those projects. The House amended the companion bill and sent it back to the Senate on a 98-4 vote. Supporters say the law expands Florida’s affordable housing supply. Critics, including her Democratic opponent, say it gives developers too much power and limits local control, Florida Politics has reported.

In her News Leader questionnaire, Calatayud says she created the state’s Hometown Heroes down-payment program. She says it has received $300 million in state money for zero-interest loans of $35,000 to first-time buyers, and that 561 families in the district have bought homes through it.

Children, families and education

In the same questionnaire, Calatayud says she secured $45 million a year to expand Florida KidCare, the children’s health insurance program. She also says she delivered the first expansion of the School Readiness child-care subsidy program in 25 years and set up the Florida Child Care Fund, which matches employer spending on child care. On schools, she cites teacher-pay funding, a Teacher Recruitment and Retention Bill of Rights she says she passed, a $150 million literacy initiative, and public-school deregulation bills she sponsored. These are her own accounts of her record.

Other votes and legislation

Domestic violence: Calatayud sponsored SB 682, the Senate companion to HB 277. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 277 in 2026. The law raises penalties for repeat offenders and increases victim relocation aid from $1,500 to $2,500.
Abortion: Florida Politics reported that she cast the only Republican “no” vote in the Senate on the state’s six-week abortion ban.
Local climate policies: In 2026 the Legislature passed a bill barring local governments from adopting carbon-reduction policies. Fresh Take Florida, in a report published by Florida Politics, said Calatayud was the only Republican lawmaker not to vote for it.
Insurance and immigration detention: Florida Politics reported that she voted for bills that renewed an emergency fund used for the Alligator Alcatraz immigrant-detention facility, provided $1 billion in state-backed reinsurance, and limited policyholders’ ability to recover attorney’s fees. Lamondin’s campaign has criticized those votes.
Urban Development Boundary: Calatayud says she passed an amendment that protected Miami-Dade County’s local control over the boundary.

Money for district projects

Calatayud says she has secured $460 million in state money for the district. Some specific items appear in news coverage. In July 2026 the South Dade News Leader reported that she, Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez and Reps. Kevin Chambliss and Jim Mooney presented Homestead with $3 million for water-system and bridge upgrades. In April 2026 the News Leader covered her office hours at Cutler Bay Town Hall, where she met residents and council members about proposed property tax changes. Several of her 2026 budget requests were vetoed by the governor, Florida Politics reported. They included security upgrades for the county water and sewer system and $1 million for a second phase of septic-to-sewer work in South Miami.

About the District

Senate District 38 lies entirely in Miami-Dade County. According to Florida Politics, it includes Cutler Bay, Key Biscayne, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest and South Miami, parts of Coral Gables, Homestead and Miami, and unincorporated areas such as Kendall and Westchester. WLRN also lists Goulds, Perrine, Redland and Sunset. Because district lines do not follow city limits, voters should check their sample ballot to confirm this race appears on it.

The district’s registration has shifted. When the lines were redrawn in 2022, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by nearly 17,000 voters. By mid-2026, Florida Politics reported, Republicans held an edge of almost 20,000. The same report said housing and insurance costs press especially hard in the district’s less affluent areas.

What This Office Does

State senators write and vote on Florida law and the state budget. They also request money for local projects, which the governor can veto line by line. Senators serve four-year terms. In southern Miami-Dade, recent Senate decisions have reached into local life: housing preemption under Live Local, property insurance rules, water and sewer funding, and the Urban Development Boundary.

The Race

Calatayud faces two challengers:

Richard Lamondin Jr. (DEM) is co-founder and CEO of the environmental services company ecofi. He switched to this race from a congressional campaign in April 2026, and his platform centers on housing, insurance, health care and child-care costs.
Jeffrey “Doc” Solomon (NPA) is a chiropractor and former Democrat who ran for the Florida House four times, most recently in 2018.

Neither a Republican nor a Democratic primary for this seat appeared on Miami-Dade’s Aug. 18, 2026 primary ballot. The South Dade News Leader’s Aug. 21 primary roundup covered other South Dade contests.

Calatayud won the seat in 2022 with 54.4% of the vote (93,741 votes) to 45.6% (78,625) for Democrat Janelle Perez, according to Ballotpedia. In mid-August 2026, Florida Politics reported, she had about $1.7 million available across her campaign and her political committee, Vision & Integrity for Florida. Lamondin had about $324,000. Florida Politics also reported that Senate Democrats’ campaign arm named the seat its top target. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee listed the seat among its 2026 targets as well.

Both sides are running ads. Florida Politics reported that the Miami-Dade Democratic Party objected to ads calling Lamondin a Democratic Socialist and said he is not one. Lamondin’s campaign has said Calatayud will not debate him. Political Cortadito reported that her campaign had not commented on the debate requests. The same outlet reported endorsements for her from law enforcement and firefighter groups, business interests, some labor groups and Zoo Miami’s Ron Magill.

How to Vote

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and voters must go to their assigned precinct. NBC6 reported that early voting in Miami-Dade runs from Oct. 19 through Nov. 1. Under the county’s rules, a vote-by-mail ballot must be requested by 5 p.m. on the 12th day before the election, which is Thursday, Oct. 22. Mail ballots must reach the Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m. on Election Day. You can check your registration, sample ballot, polling place and early voting sites through the Miami-Dade Elections Department.

Community Leadership Alliance is nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates. This profile is based on public records, candidate statements and news coverage, including the South Dade News Leader. Candidates who wish to submit corrections may contact us through our Contact page.