Andrea Leadsom has pulled out of the two-way contest to become the next Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister.
A source close to the energy minister said "the abuse has been too great".
Mrs Leadsom was up against Home Secretary Theresa May in the race to succeed David Cameron as prime minister.
She apologised to Mrs May on Monday after suggesting being a mother made her a better candidate for the job.
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said Mr Cameron's successor could now be in place "much earlier than 9 September" - when the contest was due to finish.
It will be up to the 1922 committee of Conservative MPs to decide the timetable - or whether to continue with a leadership contest.
If it is decided that Mrs May is to become leader, uncontested, she would become prime minister-designate or "PM elect" only upon the declaration by the 1922.
The time between Gordon Brown winning the Labour leadership uncontested and succeeding Tony Blair as prime minister was 38 days.
Mrs Leadsom - who was a leading light of the Brexit campaign - made it in to the final two, alongside Mrs May - who campaigned for Remain - last week.
She secured the support of 84 MPs - including former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and Boris Johnson - compared to Mrs May's 199 votes. Justice Secretary Michael Gove was eliminated after coming third.
There had originally been five contenders to succeed Mr Cameron, with MPs voting in two rounds to get that number down to two - with party's 150,000-strong membership to have the final say.
A source close to the energy minister said "the abuse has been too great".
Mrs Leadsom was up against Home Secretary Theresa May in the race to succeed David Cameron as prime minister.
She apologised to Mrs May on Monday after suggesting being a mother made her a better candidate for the job.
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said Mr Cameron's successor could now be in place "much earlier than 9 September" - when the contest was due to finish.
It will be up to the 1922 committee of Conservative MPs to decide the timetable - or whether to continue with a leadership contest.
If it is decided that Mrs May is to become leader, uncontested, she would become prime minister-designate or "PM elect" only upon the declaration by the 1922.
The time between Gordon Brown winning the Labour leadership uncontested and succeeding Tony Blair as prime minister was 38 days.
Mrs Leadsom - who was a leading light of the Brexit campaign - made it in to the final two, alongside Mrs May - who campaigned for Remain - last week.
She secured the support of 84 MPs - including former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and Boris Johnson - compared to Mrs May's 199 votes. Justice Secretary Michael Gove was eliminated after coming third.
There had originally been five contenders to succeed Mr Cameron, with MPs voting in two rounds to get that number down to two - with party's 150,000-strong membership to have the final say.
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