Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat (Image: GETTY)
is hot on the heels of in the Tory leadership race, new polling shows.
The YouGov survey of Conservative members puts the former immigration minister on 29%, just three points behind the shadow housing secretary on 32%.
Centrist candidates and Tom Tugendhat are on 20% and 19% respectively.
In a head-to-head, Ms Badenoch beats Mr Jenrick by only four points with 52% to 48%.
Mr Jenrick has seen a surge in support from the previous poll six weeks ago when he was 18 points behind Ms Badenoch.
Don’t miss…
The poll of 802 Tory members, carried out from September 20-29, found Mr Jenrick and Ms Badenoch would beat Mr Tugendhat and Mr Cleverly in head-to-heads.
Mr Cleverly, the shadow home secretary, comes out on top in a head-to-head with shadow security minister Mr Tugendhat by 55% to 45%.
It comes as the four candidates are vying for support at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.
The race to replace as leader has taken centre stage at the party’s first conference since their general election defeat.
The hopefuls have all taken part in Q&A sessions and will each give speeches on the final day tomorrow [WEDS}.
MPs will whittle the candidates down to two next week before Tory members choose the winner on November 2.
Ms Badenoch, who is known for her no-nonsense approach and is popular on the right of the party, was widely viewed as the favourite at the beginning of the contest.
But Mr Jenrick, who has pledged to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, has emerged as a surprise challenger.