TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s election will test whether the state maintains its newfound reputation as a Republican stronghold or whether Democrats make some gains by capitalizing on support for abortion and marijuana questions and the new energy Vice President Kamala Harris brings. at the race.

Gone are the days when Florida was viewed as the ultimate swing state prize. After former President Barack Obama won Florida twice, former President Donald Trump carried the state by a whisker in 2016 and then by a much larger margin in 2020. In 2022, Republicans carried all five state seats on the ballot by a landslide margin.

Still, there’s plenty of talk about constitutional amendments that could protect abortion rights and legalize recreational marijuana, with both sides of each issue pumping millions of dollars into publicity. Democrats support ballot measures and hope they will boost turnout to give them at least a chance to stop Trump’s third straight Florida victory and prevent U.S. Sen. Rick Scott from winning a second term.

The only statewide office on the ballot is Scott’s Senate seat. Scott is being challenged by former Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Murcarsel-Powell in a race that has been overshadowed by the presidential election and questions over abortion and marijuana.

Even if Trump and Scott are victorious in Florida, Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried said the election will be a huge success if the amendments pass and the party flips enough legislative seats to eliminate the Republican supermajority.

“Look at where we were in November 2022. We had the biggest loss Florida Democrats have ever experienced,” Fried said. “Nobody anticipated that we’d even be having this conversation today, that the polls show us tight, that there’s even a possibility that Florida could be in play. Everyone counted us in.”

It’s an uphill climb though. The amendments need support from at least 60 percent of voters and enough money is being spent against them that they could cast doubt among voters who normally support the issues, said Florida Republican political strategist Jamie Miller.

“As a general rule, amendments pass if there is no real effort against them, and they fail when there is real effort against them,” Miller said.

Miller also believes Democrats are motivated to vote against Republicans they don’t like, rather than being inspired by their own candidates.

“I see enthusiasm against Donald Trump and against Rick Scott, but that as a general rule in the state, the size of Florida is not enough to get you over the line,” he said.

Scott served two terms as governor, winning each with less than 50% of the vote. In 2018, he defeated incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in a close race by 0.2 percentage points. But politics in Florida has changed. The last time Scott was on the ballot, Democrats outnumbered Republicans in the state. Republicans now have an advantage of millions of voters.

Scott, one of the richest members of Congress, has pumped millions of dollars of his own money into the race, as he has in the previous three elections. Outspent and with little money coming in from national Democrats until the final weeks of the race, Murcarsel-Powell struggled to gain attention.

While Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis was not on the ballot, he spent time campaigning against abortion rights and marijuana amendments. DeSantis even used state agencies to fight the amendment, the Agency for Health Care Administration created a website and aired TV ads offering abortion information, and the Department of Health tried to stop television stations from airing a pro-amendment ad .

The Abortion Amendment would protect women’s rights to have an abortion to the point that the fetus can survive outside the womb. Florida now bans abortion six weeks after conception, when many women don’t realize they’re pregnant.

Voters approved medical marijuana in 2016. This year they are being asked to legalize recreational marijuana. The marijuana industry has spent tens of millions of dollars on the campaign, while DeSantis has raised money against it and often criticized it during official events.

Very few, if any, of Florida’s 28 congressional seats are competitive, but the state will elect at least one new member of Congress. Former Senate President Mike Haridopolos is favored to replace Republican Rep. Bill Posey. He is being challenged by Democrat Sandy Kennedy in a heavily Republican district.

Republicans will maintain firm control of the Legislature. Democrats will consider it a major victory if they flip enough seats to eliminate the GOP’s supermajority hold in the House and Senate.

One of the legislative seats being heavily targeted is held by Republican Sen. Corey Simon, a former Florida State football star and NFL star, who is being challenged by nationally known civil rights attorney Daryl Parks, who is the former partner of Atty. for civil rights Ben Crump.