In a significant change, 38 percent of respondents to the CNBC Fed Survey now expect President Donald Trump to reappoint Fed Chair Janet Yellen, up from 10 percent in the July survey.
And about 60 percent say the president should reappoint her.
The change comes after National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, once the favorite for the job, criticized Trump's response to the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, this summer. Recent reports suggest Trump has cooled on Cohn, and the president has continued to suggest he's considering reappointing Yellen.
The survey of 42 economists, fund managers and strategists conducted last week.
Just 13 percent of respondents now believe Cohn will be nominated as Fed chair, down from 50 percent in the July survey. If Yellen is not reappointed, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is the top pick of 34 percent of respondents, up from 24 percent in July. Stanford Economics professor John Taylor has seen his support more than double, to 20 percent from 9 percent.
Trump administration officials have generally confirmed the names mentioned in the survey as being among the top candidates. But they have said others are on the list.
Fifty-three percent of respondents think the next Fed chair should be an economist, up from 38 percent in July. And 39 percent believe the next Fed chair appointed by Trump will advocate tighter monetary policy.
The survey also found that 76 percent of respondents believe the central bank will hike interest rates in December.
