Chris Mason: Sunak ahead but Tory race still very much on
- Published
In seven weeks' time, a new prime minister will arrive in Downing Street.
For centuries, we've been in the habit, with a few exceptions, of getting white men to run the place.
So it's quite something for none of the final quartet to be one.
We are now down to the final quartet: former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch.
And so to Round Four.
MPs will vote between 12:00 and 14:00 BST on Tuesday and we'll get the result at 15:00.
As things stand, Team Sunak appear happy.
The challenge with being the frontrunner is the focus and novelty shifts to those chasing the other place in the final two, and you potentially lose your oomph.
"That's a cracking result - Rishi gaining most - even given [that] Suella's voters [are the] least likely to be attracted," one former cabinet minister backing Mr Sunak tells me, referring to the candidate eliminated last Thursday, Attorney-General for England and Wales Suella Braverman.
They added that Mr Sunak "had a lead of 18 over second-placed Penny on Friday. Now it's 33. Momentum."
Tom Tugendhat is yet to endorse any of his former rivals
Ms Mordaunt has gone backwards, losing one vote compared to last time.
She's trying to give it a positive spin, describing her vote as "steady" and adding she is "thrilled to be in second place once more".
She posted a new video on social media emphasising her ordinary roots.
But Ms Mordaunt going into reverse, albeit marginally, has cheered Team Truss, who point out they have narrowed the gap "pretty considerably" and say there is "all to play for".
'In it to win'
However, Ms Badenoch, who finished fourth, is only 13 votes behind the foreign secretary.
"Kemi is pleased to have taken it to the next vote," her campaign team said. "She has momentum over both Mordaunt and Truss.
"It's all to play for and Kemi is in it to win. She wants to deliver change and is the only candidate in the race capable of delivering it."
Then there is Mr Tugendhat. He has bowed out with warm words about the contest and his colleagues, but hasn't yet said whom he will now back.
All 31 of his former votes are now looking for a home. And other voters might be getting itchy feet.
Remember, this is still an election with just 358 potential voters: Conservative MPs.
It only involves every Conservative Party member once they're down to two candidates.
For now, five become four as this race rumbles on. Another daily dose of democracy beckons.