Kamala Harris will be the Democrats' presidential nominee if Joe Biden drops out, according to Democrat Howard Dean.

Dean, who ran for president in 2004, told CNN that Democrats will rally behind Harris rather than risk a chaotic "bloodbath."

"So what I - there's not going to be chaos at the convention. If Biden doesn't run, and this is totally his decision, it's going to be Harris," Dean said. "And that's just the way it is."

"It's going to be Harris"

Speculation about Biden's future is running rampant since his disastrous debate performance on CNN.

Some Democrats have warmed to Harris as a logical solution to the party's Biden problem. She is his direct successor, after all, and nominating her could help Democrats avoid a bruising intraparty squabble.

Her status as the first black female vice president is also seen as a feather in her cap, given the weight Democrats place on identity politics.

Despite rumors of a brutal knife fight, Dean predicted that there won't be a "bloodbath" to replace Biden because Democrats don't have the time for a chaotic open convention.

"But there's not going to be a big fight at the convention. There will be a few people, like Dean Phillips, who put his name in and got what he deserves. But it's going to be cooked."

Harris has advantages

Dean said it's "just as well" that Harris get the nomination because she polls better than any other Democratic candidate. He appeared to be citing a CNN poll that found Harris polling better against Donald Trump than any other Democrat including Biden.

Harris also has institutional advantages since she is already connected to the Biden campaign, Dean said. She can inherit Biden's war chest in a way other candidates just can't.

"Harris - there's some financial reasons for this. Harris is a signatory to the Biden-Harris campaign, so the money can go to her. It can't willy-nilly go to whoever else might end up - but there's just not going to be a bloodbath. There's not enough time for there to be a bloodbath."

"There isn't a single candidate other than Harris who can muster the organizational ability to run a presidential campaign, because she's already got that ability because she's been running this campaign or running in this campaign for months."

For now, Harris and Biden are putting on a united front, and Biden has insisted he is not dropping out.