Andrea Leadsom, Esther McVey and Mark Harper are out of the Tory leadership race, the three candidates failed to get more than the minimum of 17 votes required.
Boris Johnson tops the poll with 114 votes and will now enter the second round of votes on Tuesday 18 June.
Johnson thanked his “friends and colleagues” and said on Twitter, “I am delighted to win the first ballot, but we have a long way to go.”
Hunt who gained 43 votes tweeted, “Delighted to come second today. We face a crucial choice: who can negotiate some better choices than the bad ones we face.
“The stakes have rarely been higher for our country. This serious moment calls for a serious leader.”
Harper received 10, Leadsom had 11 and McVey bottomed out with just nine votes. The first secret ballot was read out on Thursday morning and 313 MPs casted their votes, leaving just seven Tory candidates remaining.
What is clear from today’s first secret ballot, is that the next prime minister will be a man.
McVey said on Twitter, “I am extremely grateful to those people who voted for me in this election and to the fantastic team who have supported my campaign.
“I am pleased to have had a platform to make the case for Blue Collar Conservatism, a clean break from the EU and the need to invest money into schools, policing and a proper pay rise for our public sector workers.
“I will speak to the remaining candidates to see who is best placed to deliver on that programme.
“I wish the remaining candidates well and I hope that all Conservative MPs will unite behind whoever wins this contest which is essential to prevent the disaster of a Marxist Government. “Whoever becomes the new leader will certainly receive my support.”
Raab, who received 27 votes, said: “I’m proud and honoured to have the support of so many brilliant colleagues today.
“This campaign is just getting started and we’ve got a good base to build on.
“I’m the change candidate who can be trusted to deliver Brexit by October and has the vision and energy to take Britain forward, and beat Jeremy Corbyn.”
Hancock, who had 20 votes, tweeted: “Thanks so much for the fantastic support – terrific to have more votes from colleagues than I could have hoped #letsmoveforward.”
The remaining candidates are Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Sajid Javid, Dominic Raab, Rory Stewart and Matt Hancock.
Stewart gained 19 votes and said on Twitter, “Thank you – to all my colleagues who voted for me. We can win this. Realism, action, unity, trust. Thank you.”
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