Richard Lamondin seeks state Senate District 38 seat

Richard Lamondin Jr., a Democrat and co-founder of sustainability firm ecofi, is running for Florida State Senate District 38 in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.

Lamondin, 38, said on his campaign website that he was born and raised in Miami. He said his first legislative priority would be building bipartisan support for affordable child care and pre-K for every family. He also said on his Ballotpedia profile that winning the District 38 seat would break the Republican veto-proof supermajority in Tallahassee.

Candidate information

Full name: Richard Lamondin Jr.

Party: Democratic

Office sought: Florida State Senate, District 38

Election date: Nov. 3, 2026

Ballot status: Certified for the ballot

Other candidates: Alexis Maria Calatayud (Republican); Jeffrey Solomon (No Party Preference)

Age: 38, according to his campaign website

Hometown: Miami, according to his campaign website

Education: High school diploma, Miami Country Day School; bachelor's degree in international relations and global business, University of Southern California, 2010

Filing date: April 8, 2026, via the Florida Division of Elections Candidate Tracking System; qualified June 9, 2026, by paid qualifying fee

Experience and public service

Lamondin co-founded ecofi with his brother in 2012. He serves as CEO. WLRN reported the two started by installing toilets together and grew the company into one of the largest sustainability firms in the country, creating hundreds of jobs in Miami.

In September 2026, Lamondin launched his first television and digital streaming ad as part of a six-figure advertising strategy, WLRN reported. In the ad, titled "Scratch," Lamondin says: "From scratch. That's how my brother and I built our business. And that's how we need to fix Tallahassee, too: from scratch."

Lamondin said on his Ballotpedia profile that ecofi has prevented over 300,000 metric tons of carbon emissions and conserved more than 10 billion gallons of water, lowering utility bills for thousands of renters nationwide.

Before entering the District 38 race, Lamondin had been a Democratic candidate for U.S. House Florida District 27, according to WLRN. He left that race in April 2026 to run for the state Senate seat.

Lamondin said on his Ballotpedia profile that he serves as a board member at three nonprofits: Engage Miami, ADAPT Foundation and Project Transforming Hope.

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Lamondin's responses on his Ballotpedia profile and his campaign website.

Child care and early education: Lamondin said his first legislative priority would be building bipartisan support for affordable, accessible pre-K and child care for every family. He said he supports raising early-education pay, expanding hours for parents who work nights and treating early learning as an essential service. He said on his Ballotpedia profile that the state's Voluntary Prekindergarten program ends at noon and no working parent can pick up their child at noon.

Housing affordability: Lamondin said housing is critical infrastructure. He said he supports expanding supply, reducing red tape, expanding first-time home buyer tax credits and restoring federal funding for flood-mitigation and resilience projects.

Health care: Lamondin said he supports affordable coverage with a public option, capping out-of-pocket expenses, expanding mental-health services and confronting high drug prices. He said on his Ballotpedia profile that he would fight for Medicaid expansion and mental health funding.

Workers' rights: Lamondin said every worker deserves fair pay and real benefits. He said he has made payroll for thirteen years and knows what it means to be responsible for people's livelihoods.

Government accountability: Lamondin said the legislature should be an independent body that scrutinizes executive priorities and pushes back when necessary, rather than rubber-stamping one person's agenda.