As Harris takes center stage in the race, black voters are feeling excitement, hope and plenty of anxiety.

ATLANTA (AP) — Black voters who helped put Joe Biden in the White House expressed a mix of hope and anxiety Monday about his withdrawal from the presidential race and the prospect of Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic nominee.

Black voters are a key support base for the Democratic Party. One of Biden’s most loyal supportersDespite growing calls for her resignation and despite the pride many Black Americans feel in Harris’ potential. Of black and Indian descentAlthough Trump has been sworn in as president, some voters are fearful of the election being upended.

“We felt like we were in a hopeless situation,” said Brianna Smith, a 24-year-old school counselor from Decatur, Georgia. Reactions to Biden’s announcement“I don’t think America will actually accept the fact that a black woman is running for president.”

The anxiety among some black voters is reminiscent of 2008, when Barack Obama ran for president with Biden as his running mate, and millions of black people were proud of his candidacy even as they worried he would not be accepted by the American public at large.

Cilia Adams, a 37-year-old hairstylist from Smyrna, Georgia, called Biden’s decision “heartbreaking.” When speculation circulated last week that the president might back out, she prayed it was just a rumor.

“I’m nervous. I’m really nervous,” Adams said.

Biden’s endorsement of Harris and the immediate rallying around her by other party leaders made her the favorite to replace Biden for the top presidential spot. But the interview in Atlanta, where voters helped Democrats win Georgia four years ago, left some Black voters feeling uneasy.

“People really hate women, especially black women,” said Mary Jameson, 46. “How can a black woman win when a white woman can’t?”

Carrington Jackson, a 23-year-old chiropractic student from Marietta, Georgia, said she immediately felt fear when Biden withdrew. She believes Harris is a great candidate but worries she will face not only the popularity of Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, but also the prejudice of the American public.

“Because I’m a Black woman, I understand that I live at the intersection of sexism and racism,” Jackson said. “I think this is going to be a whole other fight, just like fighting Donald Trump supporters.”

That’s according to an AP-NORC Center for Public Policy Research poll conducted before Biden’s Sunday announcement. About 60% of Democrats think Harris would do well as president.More broadly, the poll showed skepticism about Harris among adults overall, with only 3 in 10 Americans saying she would do a good job as president.

But black voters were more likely to view Harris favorably.

In a show of enthusiasm for the vice president, more than 40,000 Black women participated in a Zoom call hosted by the group #WinWithBlackWomen on Sunday. The call took place just hours after Biden’s announcement and participants raised more than $1.5 million for Harris’ campaign.

Many Democrats have followed Biden’s lead in pledging their support for Harris, with the Congressional Black Caucus saying it has its “full support” for the vice president.

And some black voters, disheartened by what they see as Biden’s fading chances of winning the November election, say they will support whoever is best able to challenge Trump.

“If someone can articulate the Democratic agenda better than Biden, we’d be happy to hire him,” said Pierre Varley, 30, an anti-money laundering expert in Atlanta.

According to the AP-NORC poll Black people generally view Trump negativelyBut while roughly 7 in 10 Black adults have an unfavorable view of President Trump, that figure has improved markedly since the start of 2021.

The Trump campaign is aiming to win over more black voters and other minorities.

Anaya Bridges, a 22-year-old student at Georgia State University, said she was concerned about voter turnout because she believes “some people have been influenced” by the Republican Party’s outreach to communities of color.

“The timing couldn’t be worse,” she said of Biden’s announcement.

John Diggs, 40, a therapist in Atlanta who has typically voted Democratic in past elections, said he was shocked by Biden’s decision. Both parties have work to do, he said.

“I don’t think either party has done anything good for the middle class, particularly the African-American middle class,” he said.

Johnny Bester, a 37-year-old from Atlanta who was riding a scooter alongside Diggs in Piedmont Park, said he has “no allegiance to any politics.” He said Biden should have dropped out a long time ago and said he didn’t like the president’s endorsement of Harris.

“She wasn’t very vocal, she wasn’t very visible, so many of us forgot she was even in office,” Bester said.