Le Pen stepping down from her party's leadership as she fights for presidency Her National Front party has a controversial past.

 -- French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen announced today that she is temporarily stepping down from her party's leadership as she battles for the presidency. She will face off against Emmanuel Macron during the second round of the election on May 7.

"I'm taking a leave of absence as president of @FN_officiel [the Front National]; I'm now simply a candidate in the presidential election," Le Pen tweeted from her official account.

"This is a move to appeal to a wider electorate, some of whom might think she is tarnished by being associated with the National Front," Philip Crowther, a correspondent for France 24, told ABC News. "Her supporters won't mind much because they want her to amass support among other voters, from far-left to the right."

The National Front's image has been tarnished by the reputation of her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who led the party until his daughter took it over in 2011.

The elder Le Pen was widely rebuked for calling Nazi gas chambers "a detail of history."

Marine Le Pen has denounced these remarks and worked to broaden her party's appeal.

"Her positions are not as radical as those of her father," Crowther said.

Le Pen and Macron bested nine other candidates to advance past the first round of voting on Sunday. They will now spend two weeks fighting for votes ahead of the second and final round.

Her decision to step down from the leadership of the National Front party appears to be an attempt to broaden her appeal as she and Macron battle to gain the support of voters who backed losing candidates in the first round of voting.

Since the results of the first round of voting became clear, Macron has enjoyed a number of high-profile endorsements, including from French President François Hollande and Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

The two opposing French candidates received tacit support from two opposing U.S. politicians in the lead up to the first round vote.

President Donald Trump, while not offering a formal endorsement, said in an interview that Le Pen was "the strongest on what's been going on in France."

Former President Barack Obama, meanwhile, phoned Macron to wish him well ahead of the vote. Obama's spokesman said it was not an official endorsement.