Who is Penny Mordaunt? Conservative leadership candidate's political vote and opinion record

Penny Mordaunt has emerged as the Tory leadership favorite after Boris Johnson's resignation announcement. Here's who she is and how she's voted in the past

Penny Mordaunt is one of the favorites in the Conservative leadership race (

Image: Reuters)

Only five MPs are still in the running to be Tory leader after Boris Johnson announced he would step down last week.

Tonight, July 15, the candidates will face off in a leadership debate live on Channel 4.

Rishi Sunak came out on top in the first round of the Tory leadership race on Thursday July 14, but his position quickly dwindled and it now looks like Penny Mordaunt is the new favorite.

Mordaunt was the second most popular candidate with 83 votes, but a poll of Conservative Party members suggests she has the most support.

The Conservative Home poll found that Mordaunt had the support of almost 20% of Conservative members, while Sunak fell to third place at just 12%.

She is also the current favorite according to bookmakers, Betfair has her in first position to become the next leader with odds of 11/10, while Lizz Truss has also passed Sunak with odds of 5/2 while Sunak's odds drop to 7/2.

Mordaunt has been described as a "dark horse" of the leadership race, managing to become a frontrunner despite not being as well known as some of the other candidates.

As she pursues her leadership bid in tonight's debate, here's everything you need to know about Penny Mordaunt.

Who is Penny Mordaunt?