Moore voters were suspicious of former state attorney general Strange’s appointment to fill Jeff Sessions’s seat by former Governor Robert Bentley, who was under investigation by Strange’s office. But the race has clear national implications. Moore pulling it off in Alabama is likely to inspire would-be populist primary challengers in 2018, a mission dear to Bannon’s heart. The ultimate target is McConnell, who made the perfect foil in Alabama as an avatar of the Washington “swamp,” the Trumpist term for what they see as a corrupt political establishment. And Alabama indicates that this can be done independently of any help from Trump; that Trumpism doesn’t necessarily take its cues from Trump alone.

McConnell had, from any angle, a bad day. Apart from Moore’s win, Senator Bob Corker announced that he was retiring. Corker had been squarely in Breitbart’s crosshairs, seen as overly critical of Trump and too establishment-friendly, and retiring saves him from a potentially ugly primary battle. Corker announced the move before the Alabama results came in, but his retirement is of a piece with what’s happening in this state and in the party. On its site, Breitbart displayed the news prominently, casting it as a “victory.” “ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICAN DODGES 2018 PRIMARY,” the headline read in big red letters. “VICTORY BEGETS VICTORY.”

The Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC tied to McConnell that spent nearly $10 million to support Strange, conceded the loss in Alabama even before the Associated Press. “While we were honored to have fought hard for Big Luther, Judge Roy Moore won this nomination fair and square and he has our support, as it is vital that we keep this seat in Republican hands,” the statement attributed to Senate Leadership Fund President Steven Law read.

Trump also didn’t take long to tweet in support of Moore. “Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy, WIN in Dec!” he wrote. According to ProPublica’s Politwoops project, Trump also deleted several tweets he had sent in support of Strange.

During his rally in support of Strange on Friday, Trump also promised to campaign for Moore if Moore won, and appeared publicly uncomfortable with his Strange endorsement. He reportedly told a dinner of conservative activists on Monday night that he thought Moore would lose.

Primary challengers like Kelli Ward and Danny Tarkanian have emerged in Arizona and Nevada, respectively, this year to take on Trump-skeptical senators Jeff Flake and Dean Heller.

“The floodgates are now wide open for 2018,” said Andy Surabian, senior adviser to Great America Alliance, a Bannon-allied group that backed Moore. The group hosted a pro-Moore rally last week attended by Sarah Palin and Sebastian Gorka. “The anti-establishment fervor that elected President Trump and now has elected Judge Moore will only grow larger. ​​”