British PM race down to 3

The trio will be whittled down to a pair Wednesday as Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, and Liz Truss vie for a shot at becoming the next British prime minister. Sunak led Tuesday’s vote, with Mordaunt and Truss scrambling for second place. The two finalists will go into a runoff vote by Conservative Party members, and the winner will likely be announced Sept. 5. 

Who are the candidates? Sunak is the former Treasury chief who raised taxes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a move that has been divisive in the party. Still, he was the favorite in the Conservative lawmakers’ run-off vote that happened Tuesday. Mordaunt is the trade minister, running on a low-tax, strong-defense platform. Truss, a former soldier, promised to increase military spending from 2 percent to 3 percent of gross domestic product by 2030. 

Dig deeper: Read Calvin Robinson’s column in WORLD Opinions on Boris Johnson’s fall from prime minister.