Sunak and Truss will face runoff to become UK's next leader

Britain’s Conservative Party has chosen Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss as the two finalists in an election to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The pair came first and second in a vote of Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday. Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt came third and was eliminated.

The race pits Sunak, a former Treasury chief who steered Britain’s economy through the pandemic, against Truss, who has led the U.K.’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as foreign secretary.

The two contenders will spend the next few weeks campaigning for the votes of about 180,000 Conservative Party members around the country, who will vote by postal or online ballot. The winner of the party leadership vote will be announced Sept. 5 and will automatically become prime minister.