The Florida Senate District 6 represents seven counties in north central Florida: Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Gilchrist, Union and the northern half of Alachua. The seat, which has been held by Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley since 2022, will be on the ballot Nov. 3.
Incumbent Bradley earned her bachelor’s degree in criminology from UF in 1991 and her law degree from Florida State University in 1995, according to her Senate page. Most of the bills she sponsored this year concerned fiscal policy, education, criminal justice, children’s safety and local regulations.
She is running against Democratic candidate Jason Bellamy-Fults and American Solidarity Party of Florida candidate Joseph Thornton.
Bellamy-Fults grew up in Central Florida and has worked with electrician and labor unions and various nonprofit organizations. He earned his master’s degree in education from UF, where he now works in academic technology, according to his campaign website. His policy ideas confront data center regulations, affordable and sustainable energy, elder care and healthcare.
Thornton is a psychiatrist who specializes in services for veterans and people who are incarcerated. He founded the Alachua Area Medical Reserve Corps, a public health support and disaster response health initiative, according to his campaign website. His policy ideas concern protections for immigration detainees, protections against harmful uses of artificial intelligence and the abolition of the death penalty.
Bellamy-Fults and Thornton responded to The Alligator’s emailed questionnaire. Bradley didn’t respond to The Alligator’s questionnaire, so relevant information was pulled from her campaign website.
The following responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Q. Affordability is consistently rated as a top concern among Florida voters. What specific policies do you plan to enact if you are elected to address this issue?
Jason Bellamy-Fults: “Here are some options for how we can address the affordability crisis: I have committed to working towards Medicaid expansion in Florida as well as co-sponsoring a bill to cap co-pays for insulin and insulin supplies. These actions would save out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for Floridians and bring billions of taxpayer dollars back into our state to help expand healthcare access and provide coverage to over a million Floridians who are currently without it. Further, Floridians are paying too much for their energy bills. I have a proven track record of helping people reduce their utility bills. Our monopoly utilities exert too much power in our state capitol and use that power to inflate customer bills, disinvest in energy conservation and dissuade customers from supplying their own power. I would seek reform of our Public Service Commission so that Floridians can control our energy future instead of power companies controlling Florida’s future.”
Joseph Thornton: “Affordability is not just about housing prices or tax bills — it is the full ecosystem that allows families to thrive. For Senate District 6, affordability means dignified work, fair wages, strong families, accessible education and community-based healthcare. National talking points rarely address these daily realities; we need local, practical solutions.
My approach centers on human dignity and long-term community wealth. I support protecting workers from AI-driven job loss, expanding family-sustaining wages and strengthening worker ownership so capital stays in local hands. Families deserve direct support, including caregiver subsidies and meaningful student debt relief. Healthcare must be affordable, with medical debt cancellation and stronger cost controls on prescription drugs and hospital consolidation.
Housing affordability requires expanding community land trusts, low-to-no-interest family mortgages and reforming zoning to promote small businesses and working-class families, building stability.
Finally, local and state elected officials must put moral pressure on national leaders to stop the war, stop the global plundering and return the USA to its goodness as a global partner.”
Jennifer Bradley: Bradley didn’t respond to The Alligator’s questionnaire. However, she is a member of the Committee on Fiscal Policy. She co-introduced Senate Bill 250, which intended to provide tax relief, healthcare grants and education funding for rural communities. It died before it could be signed into law.
Q. How would you describe yourself as a political candidate?
Jason Bellamy-Fults: “I am a working class person who has never run for political office but is fed up with the corruption and disregard for working people that I'm seeing in our state and in our nation. I am running as a Democrat, but I am not terribly partisan and am very independent-minded. I believe that the core qualities of an elected official are accountability, transparency and integrity, and I have always sought to demonstrate those.”
Joseph Thornton: “I am a novice political candidate who is driven to speak out for the improvement in our society for all. I come from a clinical academic background where the emphasis is the science of hope and the ethics of caring.”
Jennifer Bradley: Bradley’s campaign website reads, “I understand the many distinct issues facing our diverse area, but there is one thing all 11 counties in our district have in common. They want a government that listens to them and puts them and our shared conservative values first. I am eager to go to bat for our communities, because we all deserve to have a representative in Tallahassee that fights for us first.”
Q. What are your top three policy ideas?
Jason Bellamy-Fults: “The three major themes of my campaign are affordability, local control and anti-corruption. Aside from the specific policies I listed in my previous response, I would work to roll back many of the existing preemptions on our local communities and the attacks on unions in our state. I would seek to curtail political contributions from the monopoly utilities. And I would provide strong, lasting protections for our communities against data centers.”
Joseph Thornton: “First, human life must never be treated as expendable. I have written proposed legislation to abolish the death penalty in Florida, ensuring that our justice system reflects the dignity of every person, including those who have committed serious crimes. State violence is not justice.
Second, human dignity must be upheld for those in government custody. I have written proposed legislation to strengthen oversight and protections for immigration detainees, ensuring humane treatment, transparency and accountability.
Third, Floridians must be protected from the emerging threats posed by artificial intelligence. Human labor is not a commodity to be replaced by machines or exploited through global economic pressures. People must never become subservient to algorithms or virtual slaves to corporations. I will advance legislation that safeguards individuals from AI-driven abuses of power, wealth concentration and surveillance. An essential part of this effort is to strengthen democracy and self-government by reforms such as limits on corporate campaign money, term limits, open primaries [and] ranked choice voting. I believe that USA citizens should vote, and all USA citizens must have equal access to voting.
Across all three issues, my commitment is the same: to defend the inherent dignity of every person and to build a Florida where technology, government and the economy serve humanity — not the other way around.
Jennifer Bradley: Bradley’s website doesn’t list information about specific policies or issues. Her recently proposed legislation has primarily advocated for child safety, improved fiscal policy, medical research funding and the justice system.
Q. What experience do you have that makes you the most qualified for the job?
Jason Bellamy-Fults: “I am not running on promises. I have a 15-plus year track record right here in my own community of fighting for working people, helping people lower their utility bills and protecting our precious Florida environment. I want to bring that commitment to community service to Tallahassee. In addition, I have held a leadership role in multiple nonprofit organizations and also served on [the Gainesville] City Commission-appointed Utility Advisory Board.”
Joseph Thornton: “My background in psychiatry, ethics and AI risk gives me a unique ability to recognize when systems, corporations or technologies begin exploiting human beings. I’ve spent my career working with multi‐stakeholder groups — clinicians, educators, technologists, faith leaders and policymakers — to solve complex problems that no single sector can fix alone.
That combination matters. It means I can see dangers others overlook, build coalitions others can’t and craft legislation that protects people before harm occurs. I can help voters by defending human dignity in an age when it is increasingly threatened — and by bringing together the diverse voices needed to do it effectively.”
Jennifer Bradley: Bradley’s campaign website lists merits such as her law degree from Florida State. She has represented Florida Senate District 6 since its 2022 redistricting.
Q. How will you balance economic growth and fiscal responsibility? And, what specific investments do you plan to make in your district?
Jason Bellamy-Fults: “For me, that balance means first and foremost investing in the people of our district. Healthcare is a great example. Investments in healthcare will not only lead to higher quality, more productive lives for our residents, but it is also a relatively well paid industry whose jobs can't be easily outsourced. Our public servants (e.g., educators, first responders) are also a wise investment and deserve to be well-compensated for the important work that they do. Lastly, we must always remember that when spending tax dollars, we are spending other people's hard-earned money. We must always be transparent and accountable. I would seek to rein in state spending on political stunts and sweetheart deals for political donors (e.g., Alligator Alcatraz) and hold people accountable for ‘misappropriation’ and ‘misuse’ (e.g., the Hope Florida scandal).”
Joseph Thornton: “My party, the American Solidarity Party, believes in human-centered capitalism and distributism. Returns on investments are measured not just in dollars but in human growth. Thus, we look to have a community where people are housed [and] have healthcare, jobs and safe families. We need to invest in land trusts, parks and multimodal means of transportation. We need to live in a nation of peace rather than war. In 2027, the communities are ready to invest in land trusts and the infrastructure for transparency in government regulations (i.e. so that we can all monitor and speak on developments like data centers, commercial water plants, etc.). I also bring up for discussion a national war rebate in terms of fuel discounts at the pump for a return to the people of the excess profits made from the impact of the war on gas and diesel prices.”
Jennifer Bradley: Bradley’s proposed fiscal legislation has primarily concerned Medicaid expansions, affordable housing and insurance claims.
Q. What are your thoughts on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, and how might it impact the results of the general election?
Jason Bellamy-Fults: “First and foremost, I would seek repeal of the Florida SAVE Act. Our governor had already referred to Florida’s election system as a ‘gold standard’ before this law was ever passed. I have been a pollworker for many years and have never witnessed instances of voter fraud. What I have witnessed is gerrymandering; deceptive, dark-money political efforts to confuse voters; the undermining of our ballot initiative process; Floridians being removed from the voter rolls without just cause; and other unnecessary burdens on people trying to exercise their most basic democratic right. My first priority will always be to empower Florida voters, not make it more difficult for them. Both our state government and our local election supervisors should always proactively reach out to eligible citizens and assist them with registering to vote, maintaining their registration and voting. We can disagree over party and policy priorities, but voter suppression harms us all. Until the law is changed, we can make sure everyone has the information they need to register and that the process of documenting citizenship does not pose unnecessary barriers.”
Joseph Thornton: “I agree that voting in U.S. elections should be restricted to U.S. citizens. As with most policies, actions are guided by risks and benefits. Factually, we know of specific interferences and barriers to citizens' access to voting, which is unacceptable. The SAVE ACT in its current form would likely interfere with the rights of far more citizens to vote than it would limit the few noncitizens attempting to vote.”
Jennifer Bradley: Bradley is a member of the Committee on Ethics and Elections and voted to pass House Bill 991, also known as the Florida SAVE ACT, which will establish stricter voter ID laws.
Q. If elected, what would be your most immediate priority issue to address?
Jason Bellamy-Fults: “Lowering people's bills, particularly energy, healthcare and homeowner's insurance.”
Joseph Thornton: “My most immediate issue will be to address the government assaults on human dignity, beginning with seeking a halt to executions, calling for accountability to stop abuse of detainees and prisoners and seeking collective action for protection from corporate and rogue AI.”
Jennifer Bradley: Bradley’s most recently introduced bill was filed Aug. 7 and aims to compensate a neglected and mistreated child for injuries and damages sustained in the child welfare system.
All three candidates will appear on Alachua County ballots in the Nov. 3 election.
Contact Christian Haas at chaas@alligator.org. Follow him on X @ChristianH58745.
Christian is an environmental reporter with The Alligator, and studies journalism at the University of Florida. He is a fourth-year student who prefers to spend his free time trying new and random things, cooking, reading, watching TV, or hiking.
