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

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Conservative Party chose former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss as the two finalists in an election to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The result came on the day the divisive, unrepentant leader ended his final appearance in Parliament as prime minister with the words “Hasta la vista, baby.”

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

The race pits Sunak, who steered Britain’s economy through the pandemic, against Truss, who has led the U.K.’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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 Britain's next prime minister.

Sunak won every round of voting by lawmakers but is less popular with the party's grassroots. Truss is a favorite of the party’s right wing.

The bitter campaign has exposed deep divisions in the Conservative Party at the end of Johnson’s scandal-tarnished three-year reign. Truss has branded Sunak a “socialist” for raising taxes in response to the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Sunak has hit back, saying that his rivals are peddling economic “fairy tales” to British voters as the country faces high inflation.

All the contenders —- there were 11 to start — sought to distance themselves from Johnson, whose term in office began boldly in 2019 with a vow to “get Brexit done” and a resounding election victory, but is now ending in disgrace.

Johnson quit July 7 after months of ethics scandals...