Newer district features new candidates: Inside Florida's District 9 Senate race

In this year’s District 9 state senate race, there is a whole lot of new.

The 2020 census meant new legislative district lines were drawn, creating new geographic boundaries for Alachua County voters. And because of term limits, two new faces are running for office. Also, for the third time in four years, residents are voting for a new district state senator.

Redistricting started back in 2022, when the census caused new legislative district lines to be drawn. Redistricting forced Florida senators to run for office in newly created districts halfway through their four-year terms.

Alachua County, once entirely in District 8 along with Putman County and part of Marion, was split in two. The northern area of the county joined District 6, and the southern half became part of the newly formed District 9.

District 9 consists of all of Marion County, half of Alachua and all of Levy County.

Former District 8 Florida State Senator Keith Perry secured his spot as District 9 Florida state senator after district lines were redrawn. But because of term limits, he can no longer run for that office.

Alachua County voters are now deciding between two new prospects for the District 9 State Senate seat: Republican Stan McClain, who is no stranger to public office, and Democrat Sylvain Doré, a retired doctor and former University of Florida professor.

WUFT contacted both candidates to request an interview. Doré spoke with WUFT. Additional information was gathered through research and previously reported articles from news publications and candidate websites.

Sylvain Doré

Doré, 58, has served the community in different ways. Originally from Quebec, Canada, Doré is a retired brain doctor who spent 13 years as a UF professor of Anesthesiology and Neurology. He is a former member of the UF Advisory Council for Faculty and the UF Board of Trustees and has served as chairperson of the UF Faculty Senate.

Doré has lived in Alachua County for the past 13 years. Although he has no biological children, Dore shared in an interview with WUFT that he has previously fostered children. He said he continues to be committed to his work and is unsure whether he would foster again in the future.

He argued in a “Meet the Candidates" response with Mainstreet Daily News that “the current Republican supermajority seems to be ignoring these needs.” The needs he refers to are those of small business owners and of parents who are having difficulty passing wealth onto their children.

Doré said in the same article that he thinks the issues of education and the cost of living are affecting all Floridians. He described his opponent as “a man who spent his career helping himself and his political cronies,” and himself as “a man who spent his entire career helping humanity." 

Stan McClain

McClain, 62, has been part of Florida politics for over 12 years. He is a former Marion County Commissioner and current District 27 State. McClain holds other public positions too. He is a current member of the Florida Home Builders Association, Marion County Building Industry Association and Marion County Children’s Alliance Board of Directors. He is also a past chairman of the Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority, according to information culled from his campaign website and an article in Mainstreet Daily News,

McClain, born in Norfolk, Virginia, has lived in Marion County for the past 30 years. He has been a general contractor for the past 20 years. He has 11 children and 18 grandchildren. He was widowed in 2019 and in 2021, remarried to Jessica Throckmorton.

He became involved in public office because of issues he saw negatively impacting children, McClain told Mainstreet Daily News. He said the two biggest issues affecting Floridians are property insurance costs and affordable housing. He also said that although he and his constituents have been working to tackle those issues, there is still more work to be done.

McClain said he hopes as a senator he can help tackle such issues as well as infrastructure, water, and future energy supplies. He said the best ideas come from “everyday citizens who think of solutions that can help others.”

Their stances, summarized

McClain has six topics of concern on his campaign website: keeping Florida free, job creation, education, water conservation, low taxation and faith and family.

Doré has nine topics of concern on his campaign website: healthcare, education, right to choose, cost of living, agriculture, public safety, culture and the arts, economic prosperity and sustainable development. 

Doré was born in Canada and started his career at John Hopkins University, but when he came to the University of Florida, he fell in love.

“So over 13 years at UF,” he said, “probably the thing that impressed me the most is the quality of the undergrads. … I think my proudest accomplishment has been to foster the new mind and opening the mind of the undergrads and people who are interested in pursuing rigorous research. That’s something I cherish a lot.”

When asked why he decided to pursue public office and a senatorial role, he cited his history of service at UF.

“So after [I] retired, after 13 years at the university, I could have gone to the beach and enjoy[ed] the water there. But I realized that I feel that Florida and Floridians deserve better,” he said.

Doré said he spent his time in his different leadership positions reaching across the aisle for bipartisan support. He said his desire to create an affordable pre-kindergarten system stems from his involvement in implementing programs like “Baby Gator,” which provides support to graduate students who have children.

He discussed the issues that workers and teachers have been facing in Florida, such as pay disparity. He spoke about being the underdog, how he feels about running for a position that has been historically Republican.

His final message to voters was to not vote purely along party lines.

“I think we need more representations, and invite people who think differently at the table,” he said.

The former professor said he would like people to give him a chance to see what he has to offer.

“I wanted people to feel that they can be engaged in the system. They have a say in the system, despite we have a supermajority, which often it is the case that they don't have to listen to us,” he said. “But, you know, we should be in a place where we can speak up, be listened and for me, that's what has been the most exciting, to see the possibility that that can be done.”