Two TV debates hosted by Channel 4 and ITVwill take place on Friday and Sunday.
former chancellor Rishi Sunak led the way this morning with support from parliament, closely followed by Penny Mordaunt and Minister of Foreign Affairs Liz Truss†
Former Equality Minister Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat and Attorney General Suella Braverman were the other candidates.
Ms Mordaunt consistently tops the polls of Conservative members.
But the team of Mr. Tugendhat hopes the debates will be his “Nick Clegg moment”, when the soldier turned MP will win the country.
The ex-Liberal Democrat leader stole the show during the leaders’ first televised debates ahead of the 2010 election, fueling support for his campaign.
Sources in Mr Sunak’s campaign say they want the debates to expose Ms Truss’s weaknesses and emphasize that she is the candidate for “continuity”.
Mrs Truss did not resign from Boris Johnson’s government last week and at the launch of her campaign on Thursday, she said she remained “loyal” to the prime minister.
Pressure is reportedly mounting from the Secretary of State’s allies for Ms. Braverman and Ms. Badenoch to give up their bids and for their supporters to unite around Ms. Truss.
A second round of voting took place among Tory MPs on Thursday, with the candidate with the least support being eliminated.
Others may drop out, but a maximum of five candidates are expected to participate in the first debate.
After another candidate was eliminated on Monday, the front-runners are expected to resolve the issues in a third debate on Sky News.