On Monday, Tom Tugendhat dropped out of the race for leadership of the Conservative Party in Great Britain. On Tuesday, Kemi Badenoch followed suit.
There are now three candidates left:
Former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, Foreign Minister Liz Truss, and Penny Mordaunt, Foreign Minister at the Department of Commerce.
Sunak received 118 votes, Truss 86, Mordaunt 92 and Badenoch 59 votes in Tuesday’s vote.
Sunak has been a favorite recently, but now that has changed, reports Sky News.
Tugendhat’s election campaign manager Anne-Marie Trevelyan stated on Monday that she and her supporters might vote for the same candidate on Tuesday. Following Tuesday’s vote, Trevelyan announced via Twitter that she supported Liz Truss.
Truss got an extra 15 votes on Tuesday, which bodes well when the candidate is reduced to two. If he also gets a vote from the camp for Badenoch, it could be enough to earn a place “in the final”.
Kemi Badenoch has criticized Penny Mordaunt in the past, which should give Liz Truss confidence.
Ladbrokes bookmaker now has Truss as favourite, with Sunak second and Mordaunt third. Polls also show that Sunak fought Truss and Mordaunt in a direct duel, according to Sky News.
Sunak is the favorite to be one of the last two candidates, but measurements show he will lose.
At the end of this week, the leadership competition will only be between the two candidates. The two will meet for a TV debate on the BBC at 10pm Norwegian time on Monday.
Boris Johnson announced earlier in July that he was stepping downafter several key positions left the government due to a lack of confidence in the prime minister.
Boris Johnson’s handling of “partygate” and allegations of harassment against Conservative politician Chris Pincher contributed to his downfall. Johnson will remain in office until a new leader is elected.
The final prime minister election will be decided on September 5.
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