TAMPA, Fla. — President Joe Biden visited Tampa Tuesday to talk about Florida’s new abortion laws, hoping to turn some people’s frustration over the laws into votes this November.

Air Force One landed shortly before 2:15 p.m. The president was to then be taken to Hillsborough Community College.


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His plane left Tampa for its return to the nation's capital shorly after 4 p.m.

Political experts say Florida has become a Republican stronghold in recent years, but a 6-week abortion ban to take effect May 1 could provide an opening for Democrats to gain votes in what used to be a battleground state.

“When the Florida abortion ban went into effect, and when we ended up also having the ballot measure 4 put on the ballot, it put Florida, as far as the Democratic Party is concerned, back in to play for the national election,” said Anthony Brunello, political science professor at Eckerd College.

Polling numbers regarding abortion in Florida show a clear opening for Democrats to win independent and moderate Republican votes.

An Emerson College poll taken earlier in April asked about 1,000 Florida voters about the November ballot question on abortion.

Forty-two percent of those polled said they’d vote yes, 25% said no and 32% said they remain unsure.