Kellie Leitch, who made headlines with her proposal for a values test on new immigrants, is the preferred declared candidate in the Conservative leadership race, according to a Mainstreet/Postmedia poll.

According to the survey, 15% of Conservative voters favour Leitch as the federal leader to replace Stephen Harper.

She was followed by leadership candidate Tony Clement at 11% and Andrew Scheer, widely expected to run, and possible candidate Erin O’Toole. Both of the latter came in at 9% support among Conservative voters.

The poll also included prospective candidate Peter MacKay, who has since declared he will not run. He captured the support of 19% of respondents.

“It appears that the fortunes of Kellie Leitch have risen from the ashes in her bid to become the next leader of the Conservative Party,” said Quito Maggi, president of Mainstreet Research. “Recent media attention surrounding her controversial proposal to screen immigrants for ‘Canadian values’ has resulted in a significant increase in her profile and her popularity among Conservative voters.”

Mainstreet surveyed 5,250 Canadians over the phone from Sept. 7-8. The poll has a margin of error of 1.35%, 19 times out of 20.