MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

And then they were 2: Sunak and Truss

“Hasta la vista, baby” Johnson told the House of Commons

Following Wednesday's round of voting, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss finally made it to the showdown against former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in the contest for Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister.

Sunak, whose resignation sparked Boris Johnson's fall, emerged on top of each previous voting session, always followed by Trade Secretary Penny Mordaunt, who in the end could not withstand Truss' final sprint. Sunak received 137 votes Wednesday, Truss 113, and Mordaunt 105.

Boris Johnson, who despite his resignation is still Prime Minister on a caretaker basis until a successor is chosen, made a Hollywood-style departure in his last appearance before the House of Commons: “Hasta la vista, baby,” said the flamboyant Johnson pretending to impersonate Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator character. “Mission largely accomplished,” he added. “These last few years have been the greatest privilege of my life.”

‘Hasta la vista, baby,’ said Boris Johnson as he exited parliament for the last time as the country’s prime minister https://t.co/qKlJhcWgGP pic.twitter.com/BY66RbM3GR

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 20, 2022

Johnson's successor will be announced Sept. 5, at the end of the parliamentary recess beginning Friday.

In his farewell message, Johnson suggested his successor should stay close to Americans, support Ukrainians, fight for freedom and democracy everywhere, lower taxes and deregulate wherever possible “to make this country the best place to live and invest.”

Sunak and Truss will now begin their final campaigns for the nearly 200,000 members of the Conservative Party to mail in their votes to choose the next Prime Minister.