Ash Regan has called on SNP members to stop "mudslinging" following a storm over comments made by her leadership rival Kate Forbes.
The backbench MSP is considered a long shot to win the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon and has so far conducted most of her campaigning on social media.
Regan quit her junior ministerial post last year in protest at the Scottish Government's controversial gender recognition reforms (GRR).
Speaking today, the Edinburgh MSP said she was confident of receiving enough nominations from SNP members by Friday's deadline to formally enter the race.
And Regan said she wanted a period of "calm" after Forbes faced a storm of criticism over her conservative social views.
The finance secretary made a round of disastrous broadcast interviews this week in which she claimed it was "wrong" according to her faith to have children outside of marriage.
Forbes has so far refused to quit the race despite calls from some in the SNP.
Regan told STV: "The most important thing is we bring the party back together and we focus on the future and making a better Scotland.
"I just want to put out a call for calm with everything that has happened over the past few days. Kate and Humza are really valued colleagues. They are important members of the SNP and I think all the mudslinging that is going on right now needs to stop.
"We all need to take a breath, we’re all going to be working together at the end of this. I want us all to come back together as a stronger SNP."
She added: "I think we need to remember Kate and Humza’s religious views and I think we need to respect that. And if we can’t listen to people who have different views from our own, we’re going to be getting into a bit of a difficult situation."
John Swinney earlier said he "profoundly" disagreed with Forbes’ religious views after the finance secretary revealed she would have voted against the introduction of same-sex marriage.
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