The MSP Douglas Ross was elected leader of the Scottish Conservatives unopposed in August 2020 after his predecessor Jackson Carlaw resigned.

[1] The Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak called the 2024 United Kingdom general election to be held on 4 July.

David Duguid, a former minister who was recovering from spinal surgery, had been expected to run for re-election as the Conservative candidate for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.

[1] He initially said he would continue as MP, MSP and party leader,[3] and that the Scottish Conservatives management board had made the decision to replace Duguid.

[5] Ross was separately criticised for expense claims he had made for flights and parking allegedly part of his additional job as a football assistant referee.

[8] On 4 July, Ross failed to win election to Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, losing to the SNP candidate Seamus Logan.

[20] On 14 August, MSP Stephen Kerr accidentally published doubts about Murdo Fraser's campaign as a status update on WhatsApp, calling it "awful".

[21][22] Meghan Gallagher, the party's deputy leader and an MSP for Central Scotland since 2021, announced her candidacy on 2 August.

[24] She has criticised "the influence of gender ideology on Scottish institutions" and attacked the charity LGBT Youth Scotland, including by sharing an article accusing it of brainwashing children.

He served as shadow justice secretary until 2023, when he was replaced by Russell Findlay, a decision he credited to his support for the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Fraser lost the election, but several MSPs including Jamie Greene, Liam Kerr and Liz Smith said that they were open to the idea in 2024.

[10][36] Russell Findlay and his supporter Miles Briggs strongly opposed the idea of a split or separate brand.

[54] On 1 September, Gallacher confirmed that she would remain in the contest after it was alleged that a senior backer of Findlay was contacting party members and suggesting she was going to pull out.

[56] And on 4 September, they all participated in a special episode of the podcast Holyrood Sources discussing the campaign and their leadership platforms.

[57] Findlay received the backing of former party leader Ruth Davidson on 4 September in an article in The Daily Mail.

[60][61] On 6 September, The Telegraph published an article claiming that Gallacher had reported the shadow Scottish Secretary, and Findlay supporter, John Lamont to the party due to his conduct during the campaign.

[62] The article noted that "multiple sources" told the paper Lamont had contacted party members telling them that Gallacher was going to withdraw from the contest and endorse Fraser.

[62] The article also noted that Gallacher was concerned about her career prospects after a phone call with Lamont (who heads the board which vets candidates for Holyrood and Westminster) where he warned their relationship had been damaged, perhaps beyond repair.