A member of the Conservative Party in Northern Ireland has described the head-to-head leadership battle between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss as a "Hobson's choice".
Another warned against the Tories becoming a "little England nationalist party" as members gave mixed views on who should become the UK's next Prime Minister.
It is estimated under 600 people in Northern Ireland are among the 160,000-strong party membership who will elect Boris Johnson's successor, with the result to be announced in September.
Read more: Tory leadership race: What Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have said about Northern Ireland
The two finalists will set out their stalls to Tory members at 12 hustings held around the UK, including one in Northern Ireland scheduled for mid-August.
Felicity Huston, a founding member of the NI Conservatives, said she was leaning towards backing Ms Truss but was largely undecided.
She said: "I don't know. It is an absolute Hobson's choice for me. Neither of them would be my preference.
"I would have liked Kemi Badenoch as most of the members of the party would have liked, but the MPs have deprived them of that."
Ms Huston said she was "waiting to see how Truss performs" but compared the Foreign Secretary to a Thunderbirds puppet, adding: "She's that charismatic."
On the key issues for her, Ms Huston said: "I'm more interested in their views on Ukraine and taxation and things like that rather than Northern Ireland, as Northern Ireland will plod on as it always does."
She said taxation presented a "conundrum" to avoid decisions that would "inflame inflation".
Ms Huston added: "But I don't envy them. There isn't an easy answer. Who the hell would want that job at the moment?"
Roger Lomas, a former Westminster and Stormont election candidate for the Tories in West Tyrone, was also disappointed with the final two candidates.
"Personally I was hoping Penny Mordaunt would go through because my feeling is that we need a total break from team Boris," he said.
But Mr Lomas, from outside Omagh, expressed a preference for former Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
"I think Rishi Sunak is more business-like. I don't see where Liz Truss can justify tax cuts. I don't think her tax cut promises are sustainable in the present economic climate."
"I'm leaning towards Rishi. His realisation of the economic situation seems to be more realistic than Liz."
Mr Lomas said he wanted to see a Conservative member from Northern Ireland appointed to the House of Lords and given the role of Secretary of State.
He argued this would make the position "more accountable" to people in the region, adding: "I'm tired of political bimbos being sent here."
On the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill to scrap parts of the post-Brexit deal on Irish Sea trade, Mr Lomas said: "I have very mixed feelings about it.
"It is a terrible situation we have got ourselves into.
"We were just a political football in the Brexit withdrawal and my personal opinion is Europe used us as a stick to beat London for even leaving the EU.
"The bill doesn't actually do what we want - get rid of the Protocol altogether. The bill is just another sticking plaster on top of another sticking plaster."
Mr Lomas said the "elephant in the room to me is Scottish independence", as the SNP pushes for a second referendum on Scotland leaving the UK.
"I'm concerned about the drift of the Conservative Party to a little England nationalist party," he added.
Matthew Robinson, chairman of the NI Conservatives, said both candidates are "definitely qualified for the job" but expressed support for Mr Sunak.
"I think he's young, he has got a lot of energy," said Mr Robinson, who stood for the Conservatives as a candidate in North Down in the Assembly election in May.
"Why I'm leaning towards him is his ideas. They are grounded in the centre right. There is no lurch towards more hardline positions within the party. His platform is rooted in a centre-right vision for the party."
On the Protocol Bill, Mr Robinson said: "In terms of what they have both said publicly I can't see a massive division on what the current UK government have said on the Protocol Bill."
But he said he was "somewhat concerned that Liz Truss expressed an openness to withdraw the UK from the European Convention of Human Rights".
He concluded: "I think it's going to be a judgement from the membership on who has the charisma and plan for the coming years to stabilise the economy and prepare the party for the next general election."
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