Was Reagan seen as the Republican frontrunner between 1977 and 1979?

[President Johnson]

Before the 1980 campaign actually begun in the second half of 1979, was Ronald Reagan always seen as the Republican frontrunner after Jimmy Carter became president (Reagan himself did not announce until November 1979)? Or was that more of either Gerald Ford, Bob Dole or George HW Bush? As far as I know, a Ford comeback attempt was always seen as a strong possibility? And it was not until early 1980 that Ford declined to run. Before, he even joked at his 1977 State of the Union Address (no idea why an outgoing president even gave one, as did LBJ in January 1969).

I think this may have been somewhat similar to Joe Biden 2017-2019, who was always seen as kind of a frontrunner, but the age issue was certainly out there.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Yah Reagan was considered the odds on favorite for the Republican nomination and in fact in many polls was the only Republican polls against Carter . He was even beating Ford by double digits in most polls and Bush was polling horribly until he won in Iowa :

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Republican_Party_presidential_primaries

See the polling part and there is also this quote

Ronald Reagan, who had narrowly lost the 1976 Republican nomination to President Gerald Ford, was the early odds-on favorite to win the nomination in 1980. He was so far ahead in the polls that campaign director John Sears decided on an "above the fray" strategy. He did not attend many of the multi-candidate forums and straw polls in the summer and fall of 1979