LONDON — The fractious race to replace Boris Johnson as Britain’s prime minister entered an unpredictable endgame Tuesday as three candidates for Conservative Party leader were left battling for the two spots in a run-off vote.

Kemi Badenoch, a previously little-known lawmaker who has become a rising star of the party’s right wing, was eliminated from the contest after receiving the fewest votes from Conservative lawmakers in their fourth round of voting.

After the latest vote knocked Badenoch out, former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak led the shrinking field of candidates and had all but secured his place in the final pair, reports AP.

Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who were neck and neck behind him, will now scramble to woo Badenoch’s supporters before a final elimination vote on Wednesday.

The two finalists will go to a runoff vote by all 180,000 members of the Conservative Party, with a winner expected to be announced Sept. 5.

Sunak got 118 votes on Tuesday, two short of the number that would guarantee he is one of the two candidates Conservative members can choose. Mordaunt received 92 votes, Truss 86 and Badenoch 59. — Agencies