Eight British Conservative Party lawmakers have made the cut to replace outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who resigned earlier this month amid scandals.
Each of the eight needed support from at least 20 fellow Conservative Party lawmakers before the Tuesday deadline.
Runoff voting among fellow Conservative lawmakers, to narrow the field to two, is scheduled to begin Wednesday.
Among the eight are former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt and backbench lawmaker Tom Tugendhat. Former health secretary Sajid Javid was not among the eight.
Lawmakers aim to narrow the field to two by the summer break, which starts July 21. The two finalists will then campaign across the country, after which party members will vote on the winner.
The new leader is due to be announced when the House of Commons returns on September 5.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press.