Russell Findlay has been accused of disrespecting party members after he announced his bid to be the next leader of the Scottish Conservative before the start of the contest.
Jamie Greene, who is also considering a run at the top job, said it would have been fairer and more transparent for his colleague to have wait for the formal commencement of the process to replace Douglas Ross.
He told The Herald the announcement from the party's justice spokesman was "premature".
READ MORE: Russell Findlay to stand for Scottish Tory leadership
The party’s ruling management board is currently consulting with elected representatives and activist on how the race should be organised.
That consultation is due to end on Friday, with the board due to meet next week to set out the rules.
Mr Findlay, the party’s justice spokesman, announced his bid to enter the leadership race on Monday morning.
The former journalist said he believed he could steer the party to victory at the Holyrood elections in 2026.
Writing in the Daily Mail, he said: “That’s the common question posed to us – will you ever be a party of government in Scotland? I believe we can one day – but only if we work hard, pull together and earn the trust of the public.
“There is a common-sense coalition that we can build to meet the aspirations of ordinary people.”
Speaking to The Herald, Mr Greene said Mr Findlay had “jumped the gun”.
He said: “The party management are rightly still consulting with membership about the potential process to elect a new leader.
“It seems premature to disrespect this process, and get ahead of our valued activists before they’ve voiced their opinions fully.
“Plus to ensure absolute fairness and transparency to all candidates it feels opaque to jump the gun before starting shots are fired.”
READ MORE: Who is Russell Findlay? The ex-journalist in bid to lead Scots Tories
Responding to Mr Greene's comments, a spokesperson for Mr Findlay said: "Other candidates are welcome to set out their own positive vision and ideas for the future of the party."
Douglas Ross announced he was standing down as party leader during the general election.
His position became untenable after he upset some of his MSPs by running for Westminster, despite previously promising to commit his energies to leading the Tory group in the Scottish Parliament.
The race to replace him has already turned bad-tempered, with accusations of anonymous briefing and smears.
Nevertheless, there are several MSPs known to be considering a tilt at the top job.
Writing in Unspun, The Herald’s daily politics newsletter, Graham Simpson confirmed he was weighing up his options.
He was critical of his party’s recent direction, and said that he and his colleagues had not been well used by the current leadership.
“My party is the official opposition in Holyrood but if there was an election this week that would not be the case.
“We have slipped and slipped badly.
“Part of the reason for that has been the behaviour of our UK counterparts and part has been down to our own negative tactics which have ignored large parts of the country.
“Well, to use a football analogy, the manager has now resigned and we can have a new one with a new backroom team to get us playing with a bit of flair and get the crowd roaring.”
Mr Simpson, like Mr Findlay, is a former journalist. The two men previously worked together at the Scottish Sun.
READ MORE: Tory MSP: 'My party has ignored large parts of the country'
In his column, Mr Findlay also questioned Mr Ross’s strategy and said the party had “not been conservative enough.”
He added: “We've not grounded our policies in the principles and values that we're passionate about. We've not been proudly conservative. We haven't given people a positive conservative vision to believe in.
“The fact is that over recent years the Scottish Conservative Party has been philosophically adrift, defined by our opposition to a dominant and divisive SNP, not by our own vision for Scotland.
“This has been bad not just for our party, but also for the country since it has deprived voters of a meaningful choice in ideas.”
Brian Whittle, Stephen Kerr, Meghan Gallacher, Maurice Golden, Murdo Fraser, Liam Kerr, are also understood to be considering a leadership bid.
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