A new poll unveils the opinions of Democrats regarding Harris as their president.

If Vice President Kamala Harris were to become President, a majority of Democrats believe the country would be in good hands.

According to a recent poll by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, approximately 60% of Democrats believe Vice President Kamala Harris would make a good president, while 20% do not and another 20% are unsure.

As more Democratic officials publicly urge Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election, concerns arise about his ability to perform his duties. Many officials believe that Harris or another candidate would be better suited to face Trump in the upcoming election.

A Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll of Massachusetts residents found that 64% of likely Democratic or Democratic-leaning voters want someone other than Biden to face off against Trump. The AP-NORC national survey likewise found that 65% of Democrats say Biden should drop out of the race.

Despite being the center of speculation for a backup ticket, Vice President Harris has consistently shown support for Biden and has publicly defended him against attacks from anxious party officials who spoke anonymously to the media.

If Biden were replaced by Harris, a 59-year-old woman of color, Democratic voters would mostly be happy with the younger candidate, who could champion the party's message on abortion rights and prosecute the case against Trump, a convicted felon in New York.

Harris could potentially inspire significant Democratic voter turnout, particularly among women and Black adults, who were more likely than the general population to believe Harris would excel as president.

Nearly half of Americans outside the Democratic Party were skeptical of how Harris would perform in the Oval Office. Only about 3 in 10 Americans say Harris would be a good president, while 2 in 10 say they don't know enough to have an opinion.

While Harris' favorability rating is comparable to Biden's, a poll revealed that fewer Americans have an unfavorable opinion of her. Specifically, about 4 in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable opinion of Harris, while about half have an unfavorable opinion. In contrast, about 6 in 10 Americans have a negative view of Biden. Additionally, while about 1 in 10 Americans say they don't know enough to have an opinion of Harris, nearly everyone has an opinion on Biden.

Democrats generally have a positive view of both Harris and Biden, with about three-quarters of Democrats viewing Harris positively and seven in 10 having a favorable view of Biden.

While Harris is more well-known among Democrats than other potential candidates, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, only about one-third of Democrats say Newsom would make a good president, and half don’t know enough to say. Similarly, about one-quarter of Democrats say Whitmer would do well, and about two-thirds don’t know enough to say.

An AP poll of 1,253 adults was conducted from July 11 to 15, 2024, using a sample from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which represents the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.