BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- There was a time in the Republican Party when the tea party was not the kingmaker.

Indeed, the tea party wasn't even on the radar. Back then, the kingmakers went by various names, but all of them tied back to religion: the Christian Coalition, the religious right, the Moral Majority, "values" voters.

They began appearing strongly in Republican primaries circa 1980, around the time the late Rev. Jerry Falwell formed the Moral Majority. They helped make Ronald Reagan president that year.

By 1994, they helped nominate a number of Republicans to Congress, and then helped them win the first simultaneous GOP majorities in both congressional chambers since 1954.

But by the time Barack Obama became president, the religious right was weaker. Some of their leaders had run for president, and fared poorly. There was former Reagan aide Gary Bauer, who ran against Republican George W. Bush in 2000 for the GOP nomination. Bauer is the fellow who fell over as he tried to flip pancakes.

At the state level, members of the religious right also failed. There was Ralph Reed, a top GOP and Christian Coalition operative who couldn't even win the nomination for lieutenant governor of Georgia in 2006.

And of course, in Alabama, there was Chief Justice Roy Moore, who made a comeback in 2012 as justice. In 2006 and 2010, however, he couldn't come close to getting the GOP nod for governor.

Replacing the religious right within the GOP was the more libertarian tea party, an alliance of groups focused on fiscal conservatism. Stimulating these groups into existence was the $800 billion-plus bailout of banks under President Bush, the stimulus of 2009 and the Affordable Care Act.

The tea party supplied the red fiscal meat that Republicans, remembering the days of tax-cutter Ronald Reagan and budget-focused Newt Gingrich, wanted to see from their activists and kingmakers. It was talk they didn't always hear from the religious right, who seemed more concerned with abortion, gambling, gay rights and assisted suicide.

The tea party's influence helped the GOP take back the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, and helped Alabama Republicans take the Alabama Legislature for the first time since the late 1800s.

The tea party is still strong, but its clashes with the GOP "establishment" have been costly. Many Republicans see missed opportunities in 2010 and 2012, and believe some tea party candidates within the GOP were too extreme or unprepared.

A crowded field entered the race to replace U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, when he announced retirement. The conventional wisdom was that the tea party would help nominate Bachus' replacement this year.

But it wasn't that easy. State Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, picked up most tea party support, but he competed with Chad Mathis, a physician.

It also became clear that state Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Homewood, was the establishment choice.

As an official within the Alabama Policy Institute, Gary Palmer was well-known to many kingmakers in the district, but he didn't seem to have a base.

In reality, he did. He had the religious right.

Rarely now does the religious right get an opportunity to nominate one of their own. They lined up to help Palmer. A glance at Gary Palmer's endorsements is to see some of the biggest names from the religious right.

There's Ralph Reed. There's Gary Bauer. And there's Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council political action committee. Late in the runoff, Palmer also picked up the nod of James Dobson of Focus on the Family.

National figures in the GOP, who endorsed Palmer early on in the runoff, include Republicans who are highly respected by the religious right. There is former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and Gov. Mike Pence, R-Ind.

Helping Palmer was the fact the tea party had a problem in the 6th Congressional District. They split their votes between Beason and Mathis in the June 3 primary, and that allowed Palmer and establishment favorite Paul DeMarco to make the July 15 runoff.

DeMarco was then faced with a problem. The tea party naturally saw an ally in a candidate -- Palmer -- with endorsements from Santorum, Pence and Reed. Beason and Mathis threw their endorsements to Palmer before the July 15 runoff.

Palmer heads into the general election an overwhelming favorite in the heavily GOP district.

It's likely religious voters are still a strong component of the tea party and the GOP, but still lack the strength they had in the 1980s and 1990s. They won't always get a shot like last night.

But if they align with the tea party factions early, they may not need to.

Updated at 9:39 a.m. Wednesday to provide more detail about the district.