Inside the Florida 9th District Senate Race

There are a lot of firsts in the District 9 Senate race this year.

The 2020 Census meant new legislative district boundaries were drawn, creating new geographic boundaries for Alachua County voters. And because of term limits, two new faces are running for office. It’s also the third time in four years that residents are voting for a new county state senator.

Redistricting began back in 2022, when the Census drew new legislative district boundaries. Redistricting forced Florida senators to run for office in newly created districts midway through their four-year terms.

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

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

Former Florida State Senator from the 8th District Keith Perry won the seat as Florida State Senator from the 9th District after district lines were redrawn. But due to term limits, he can no longer run for office.

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

WUFT contacted both candidates and asked for an interview. Dore spoke with WUFT. Additional information was collected through research and previously published articles from news publications and candidate websites.

Sylvain Dore

Dore, 58, has served the community in a variety of ways. Originally from Quebec, Canada, Doré is a retired neurologist who spent 13 years as a professor of anesthesiology and neurology at the University of Florida. He is a former member of the UF Faculty Advisory Council and the UF Board of Regents and has served as chairman of the UF Faculty Senate.

Dore has lived in Alachua County for the past 13 years. Although he has no biological children, Dore told WUFT that he previously raised children. He said he remains dedicated to his work and is unsure whether he will do foster care again in the future.

In a “Meet the Candidates” response to the Mainstreet Daily News, he stated that “the current Republican supermajority appears to be ignoring these needs.” The needs he talks about concern small business owners and parents who find it difficult to pass on wealth to their children.

In the same article, Dore said he believes education and cost of living issues affect all Floridians. He described his opponent as “a man who spent his entire career helping himself and his political friends” and himself as “a man who devoted his entire career to helping humanity.”

Stan McClain

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

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

He took public office because of issues he believes are negatively impacting children, McClain told Mainstreet Daily News. He said the two biggest issues facing Floridians are property insurance costs and affordable housing. He also said that while he and his constituents are working to address these issues, there is still more work to be done.

McClain said he hopes as a senator he can help address such issues, as well as infrastructure, water and future energy supplies. He said the best ideas come from “ordinary citizens thinking about solutions that can help others.”

Their positions, in brief

On his campaign website, McClain highlights six issues of concern: preserving Florida’s freedom, creating jobs, education, water conservation, low taxes, faith and family.

On her campaign website, Doré highlights nine issues of concern: health care, education, choice, cost of living, agriculture, public safety, culture and the arts, economic prosperity and sustainable development.

Dore was born in Canada and began his career at Johns Hopkins University, but when he arrived at the University of Florida, he fell in love.

“So, in my 13 years at UF,” he said, “probably the thing that has impressed me the most is the quality of the students. … I think my greatest achievement has been promoting new thinking and opening the minds of students and people interested in doing rigorous research. This is something I really value.”

When asked why he decided to pursue public office and become a senator, he cited his experience serving at UF.

“So after (I) retired, after 13 years at university, I could go to the beach and enjoy the water there. But I realized that I felt that Florida and Floridians deserved better,” he said.

Doré said he spent his time in various leadership positions building bipartisan support. He said his desire to create affordable early childhood education stems from his involvement with programs like Baby Gator, which provides support for graduate students with children.

He discussed the issues facing workers and teachers in Florida, such as pay inequality. He talked about being an outsider and how he felt about running for an office that has historically been Republican.

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

“I think we need more representation and bring people to the table who think differently,” he said.

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

“I wanted people to feel like they could be involved in the system. They have a voice in the system, even though we have an overwhelming majority, and often they don’t need to listen to us,” he said. “But, you know, we need to be in a place where we can speak out and be listened to, and that was the most exciting thing for me, to see the possibility that this could be done.”