Another poll of Scottish voters has suggested Christian finance minister Kate Forbes is the front-runner in the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon. 

Fobes had a difficult start to the leadership race as a result of her conservative Christian beliefs. She told journalists that she would not have voted in favour of same-sex marriage and would not choose to have children outside of wedlock. 

In recent days, the Daily Record unearthed a blog post written by Forbes in 2014. In it she makes a case against the ordination of women. It’s believed she stands by the comments eight years on. 

Despite the backlash she has received, she appears to be a crowd favourite. According to a Panelbase survey completed in collaboration with the Sunday Times, nearly a quarter of participants would like to see Forbes take the reigns as First Minister. 

Around 15 per cent would like to see Hamza Yousaf take the top spot, and just seven per cent favour Ash Regan. 

Whilst many have criticised her faith online, those opinions have not necessarily translated to the polls. According to The Sunday Times, 12 per cent of voters would be more likely to vote SNP if there was a Christian leader, and 10 per cent would be less likely to vote for the SNP. 

Of those that participated in the study, 31 per cent said that the Free Church of Scotland congregant had done a good job in her role as finance minister and MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.

The leadership race is set to continue until March 27.