The February 2020 Scottish Conservative Party leadership election was the fourth internal party election to elect the next leader of the Scottish Conservatives, part of the British Conservative Party and the second-largest political party in the devolved Scottish Parliament. Ruth Davidson, who won the previous leadership election in 2011, resigned on 29 August 2019. Two candidates contested the election: Jackson Carlaw MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament), who served as the Scottish Conservatives' interim leader, and Michelle Ballantyne MSP. Carlaw was seen as the favourite in the contest, and won the endorsement of most of the party's MSPs and MPs (Members of Parliament). Carlaw won the election on 14 February 2020, winning more than three-quarters of the votes of party members. The leadership election was expected to take place in late 2019, but was delayed due to the 2019 United Kingdom general election. Carlaw represented the Conservatives in the two Scottish televised debates during the election campaign.
