Harris sees hope in polls against Trump, but three challenges plague her potential candidacy

Vice President Kamala Harris looks like the Democrats' best chance to replace President Joe Biden should he step aside, according to the polls, but there are several challenges for the party that would go along with Harris at the top of the ticket.

As Democrats continue to discuss whether to replace Biden, Harris is in the best position to take her running mate's place if the president were not to fight on. With Harris as the Democratic nominee, here are three problems Democrats would have to contend with in a general election fight against former President Donald Trump.

Harris, a former prosecutor and senator from California, has typically been to the left of Biden politically, and in a close election in which Trump is working to woo moderates, it could be her undoing.

While serving in the Biden administration, she has largely stayed in line with Biden's policy. However, earlier this year, she got ahead of the administration by calling for an immediate ceasefire in the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. The war has been a dividing issue for Democrats, but her stance put her to the left of Biden before the president called for an immediate ceasefire.

Harris's experience prior to being Biden's vice president included serving as attorney general of California from 2011 until 2017 and U.S. senator for the Golden State from 2017 until 2021. She has little experience combatting Republicans in a state dominated by Democrats.

In the 2010 state attorney general election, Harris narrowly defeated Republican Steve Cooley, 46.1%-45.3%, and underperformed all other statewide elected Democrats by nearly 10 percentage points. She was reelected over a Republican challenger by roughly 15 points in 2014, and she faced a Democrat in the Senate election in 2016 due to California's jungle primary law, which permits the top two primary vote-getters to advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.

Harris also flamed out in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, dropping out before the first contest after falling in the polls.

Despite some polls showing Harris could be a formidable candidate against Trump in a general election, Harris also has weak approval ratings for her job as vice president.

The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Harris with a 36.3% approval rating, compared to a 55.7% disapproval rating. Her approval rating average is worse than Biden, per the outlet, which shows the president with a 38.9% approval rating, compared to a 57.3% disapproval rating.

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The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Trump leading Harris 48%-44.4% in a hypothetical matchup.

Both Biden and Harris have been firm that the president will not be dropping out, despite speculation and concern about his prospects within Democratic circles.