Candidate Jeffrey "Doc" Solomon, Florida Senate District 38

Jeffrey “Doc” Solomon, a South Florida chiropractor, is running for the Florida Senate in District 38 in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. He is running with no party affiliation. The district covers a large part of southern Miami-Dade County, including Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest and parts of Homestead. The other candidates are Republican Sen. Alexis Maria Calatayud, the incumbent, and Democrat Richard Lamondin Jr.

At a Glance

Office: Florida State Senator
District: Senate District 38, part of southern Miami-Dade County
Party: No Party Affiliation (NPA)
Incumbent: No
Opponents on the ballot: Alexis Maria Calatayud (REP, incumbent), Richard Lamondin Jr. (DEM)
Campaign website: None verified. Florida Politics reported that his campaign paid for a website subscription, but we could not confirm its address.

Background

Solomon is a chiropractor. In 2018, Florida Politics called him “the South Florida chiropractor,” and another of its stories that year described him as a Pinecrest Democrat. The Ballot Brief, a nonpartisan voter guide, cites Florida Politics in describing him as a chiropractic physician who has treated Miami-Dade patients for more than 40 years and a past president of the Florida Chiropractic Association.

He has a long record as a candidate. He was the Democratic nominee for Florida House District 115 three times. He came within about 5 percentage points in 2012 and lost to Republican Rep. Michael Bileca 54% to 46% in 2016, Florida Politics reported. In 2018 he ran for the open seat against Republican Vance Aloupis, who won. Ballotpedia lists Calatayud, now one of his opponents, as Aloupis’ campaign manager in that race. Florida Politics reports that Solomon has run for the House four times in all.

After 2018 he stayed active in Democratic politics and in the push for open primaries. A 2019 opinion column he wrote for the Florida Phoenix identified him as a health care provider, a Miami-Dade Democratic Party organizer and a former House District 115 candidate. Florida Politics reported that in 2019 he was among the candidates for chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party. Later that year, an opinion piece by open-primaries advocate Steve Hough said a Dr. Jeffrey Solomon had guided a resolution to open the party’s primaries through the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee. Hough wrote that state party leaders stopped the resolution and that Solomon had since registered as an independent. Florida Politics now describes him as a former Democrat.

In Their Own Words

We found few public statements from Solomon about the 2026 race. None of the voter guides we reviewed included 2026 questionnaire answers from him. In his 2019 Florida Phoenix column calling for open primaries, he opened with this assessment:

“Politics in Florida have become toxic.”

Jeffrey Solomon, Florida Phoenix opinion column, May 15, 2019

The column argued that closed party primaries, paid for by taxpayers and often decided by a small share of voters, push lawmakers toward their party bases. It pointed to states that have replaced party primaries with open primaries.

Where He Stands on the Issues

Solomon’s 2026 platform is not well documented. The Ballot Brief listed no published priorities for him as of September 2026, and we could not find a campaign issues page. Here is what the public record shows:

Election reform: He has written in support of opening Florida’s primary elections to all voters, including those with no party affiliation.
Comparison with the Democratic candidate: At a Democratic candidate forum in June 2026, he could not say which of his policies differed from Lamondin’s, Florida Politics reported.
Earlier positions: In 2018 a mailer from his Republican opponent highlighted Solomon’s support for raising the gas tax to address traffic. The mailer quoted him as saying the state had not raised the gas tax in 20 years, Florida Politics reported. In 2016, iVoterGuide listed the Florida Democratic Environmental Caucus among his endorsers. These positions come from earlier campaigns and may not reflect his current views.

Campaign Finance

Solomon is running a small campaign. For April 1 through May 31, 2026, Florida Politics reported, he raised about $9,000, including $2,000 he loaned himself. All but one of his 19 contributions came from individuals, and several came from fellow chiropractors and other medical professionals. His spending included payments to campaign manager Gabrielle Bogert, advertising through the AFL-CIO, and venue rentals at the Gibson Bethel Center and Fruit & Spice Park. By mid-August, Florida Politics reported, he had raised and spent about $15,000 from outside donors and had not yet used $7,000 in self-loans. Calatayud had about $1.7 million at that point and Lamondin about $324,000.

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. By mid-2026, Florida Politics reported, registered Republicans outnumbered Democrats in the district by almost 20,000 voters. Because district lines do not follow city limits, voters should check their sample ballot to confirm this race appears on it.

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 the Live Local Act, property insurance rules, and water and sewer funding.

The Race

Solomon faces two major-party candidates:

Alexis Maria Calatayud (REP) is the incumbent. She won the seat in 2022 with 54.4% of the vote and was the Senate sponsor of the Live Local Act.
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.

As a candidate with no party affiliation, Solomon went straight to the November ballot without a primary. The Ballot Brief noted this. No primary for this seat appeared on Miami-Dade’s Aug. 18 primary ballot. The South Dade News Leader’s Aug. 21 primary roundup covered other South Dade contests. News coverage of the race has focused mainly on Calatayud and Lamondin.

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.

Candidate Jeffrey “Doc” Solomon, Florida Senate District 38