Another option is for Harris to be viewed as the strong front-runner and still allow for an open process, just with the understanding that few, or even no, viable Democrats would challenge her out of fear of being ostracized. In recent weeks, Democratic Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan both said they would not run against Harris.
That would be something of a pro forma process then, still selecting Harris.
Apparently Harris isn’t polling much better than Biden overall:
Public and private polls show Harris marginally outperforming Biden, but that she runs stronger than other would-be contenders with crucial demographics, particularly Black voters. Harris supporters and allies contend those surveys merely represent her floor and that support for Harris would grow once she assumed the mantle as the titular head of the party.
However, it might be that she is expected to perform better in the specific states at issue (assuming that switching up the candidate doesn’t alter which states might be swing states…that’s a substantial change).