Humza Yousaf has said that he his campaign has "momentum" as he welcomed John Swinney's backing in the SNP leadership race before the polls open on Monday.
The Health Secretary said that it was "a sign of strength" that a "giant" of the independence movement was supporting him.
Swinney became the latest high-profile party figure to back Yousaf on Saturday evening.
That came hours after the party's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn announced that he was supporting the MSP for Glasgow Pollok.
The SNP's Deputy Westminster leader Mhairi Black had already said that she was backing Yousaf, as did former Westminster leader Ian Blackford and constitution secretary Angus Robertson.
Yousaf told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show: "It's sign of strength, that somebody who is the giant of our movement, indisputable that he is seen as a titan of a movement, who has campaigned for independence for, I think, over four decades, has trusted me to build on our progressive agenda and also trusted me to deliver independence.
"I think anybody would bite John Swinney's hand off for that endorsement.
"And of course, that coming just before the ballots drop in boxes and letter boxes across the country, I would urge our members to listen to... John Swinney, get on that email, follow the link and put me down as their first choice."
He added: “It’s not just parliamentarians that are backing me, polls have shown that I am ahead with SNP voters and with SNP members.
“I’m certainly not complacent... three weeks ago of course I was behind both in terms of SNP voters and SNP members.
“Momentum is everything is everything in a campaign and that’s clearly with my campaign.”
Deputy First Minister Swinney had said that Yousaf would "widen our support in attracting new supporters to Scottish Independence."
He said: “For the last 40 years, I’ve had the privilege to be supported by members to serve at the heart of the Scottish National Party and our SNP Government.
“I am so proud of what we have achieved in Government, transforming the lives of people in Scotland, and as a party we have never been closer to winning independence.
“We now need to choose an SNP leader who will complete our journey to independence, and I believe that person should be Humza Yousaf.
“Humza is best placed to lead our party because he will strengthen the SNP as a force for progressive change in Scottish politics.
“Humza will govern effectively by using the partnership that we enjoy with the Scottish Green Party - guaranteeing us a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament.
“And crucially, Humza will widen our support in attracting new supporters to Scottish Independence.
“Humza is an experienced Minister who’s done all the tough stuff that you have to do day in day out within Government.
“He’s put his heart and soul into all the work he’s done within the party to make the SNP an inclusive political party.
“So for me, John Swinney, it has to be Humza.”
Swinney announced earlier this month that he will be standing down as Deputy First Minister once a new leader is elected.
The ballot for the SNP leadership contest opens at noon on Monday. Voting will be open for two weeks, closing at noon on March 27.
The winner will then be announced as soon as the result has been determined and the candidates have been advised.
Some 78,000 online forms will be sent out for the ballot, according to reports.
This means that the SNP have lost nearly 50,000 members since 2019, when it had 125,000 members.
The Scottish Mail on Sunday reported that Southampton-based polling firm Mi-Voice has been given the names of 78,000 members and expects only 54,000 to vote.
This comes as a poll suggested that the feisty televised leadership debates are harming support for the SNP.
A Survation poll showed that SNP support in a Westminster election fell to its lowest level in five years.
Backing for Scottish independence also fell to 45 per cent which is its lowest level since the autumn of 2018.
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