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Martin Bashir may be history at MSNBC, but Joy-Ann Reid could very well be the network’s future, according to two polls on the Internet.

Reid, an MSNBC contributor who serves as managing editor of TheGrio.com, is the front-runner to take over Bashir’s 4 p.m. time slot as she holds a lead over Ronan Farrow by almost 10 points in a Mediaite.com online poll.

A similar result can also be found on TVNewser, where Reid currently commands a slim lead against former RNC chairman Michael Steele. Although he’s in the running on Mediaite, Farrow is far behind with a fifth place standing on TVNewser.

Filling Bashir’s time slot can only add to Reid’s resume, which boasts experience in traditional and new media as well as 15 years working in television and radio news. Compared to MSNBC hosts, Reid has the edge, complete with encouraging signs from the network, a good track record of guest-hosting shows and a one-two punch of reporting experience and internet-savvy commentary.

Despite all signs leaning toward a Reid takeover, MSNBC and network president Phil Griffin still has to deal with the aftermath of Bashir’s departure. On one hand, there’s the appearance of MSNBC yielding to those who dislike Bashir. On the other hand is the race card, which has not gone unnoticed by people who feel the that a man of color [Bashir] was forced out of his job by a mob of angry white people, so to speak. The latter hand has set social media outlets ablaze with widespread calls from MSNBC viewers to boycott the network until Bashir is rehired.

Bashir resigned from MSNBC nearly three weeks after personally attacking former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. In a scripted commentary last month addressing comments Palin made about the Federal debt to slavery, the former “Nightline” anchor said that someone should defecate in Palin’s mouth. Bashir later apologized for his remarks.