Luther Strange, Roy Moore, Advance in the Alabama Republican Primary

President Trump played a surprisingly small role in the Republican primary for the Alabama Senate seat held by Jeff Sessions before he became attorney general.

The question is whether Trump will be a bigger factor in the runoff a few weeks from now. The candidate Trump endorsed, Senator Luther Strange, finished a solid second in Tuesday’s primary and will face former Judge Roy Moore, who came in first, in a September 26 runoff.

With 91 percent of the vote tallied, Moore had 39.6 percent, Strange 32.1 percent, and U.S. Representative Mo Brooks 19.8 percent.

The story of the campaign, given the media’s obsession with Trump, has been the president. First, it was whether he would intervene and back a candidate at all. Then 10 days ago, he tweeted his endorsement of Strange. Now the focus is on what Trump will do to aid Strange in the runoff.

Why is Trump so important in this race? It’s simple: he is enormously popular in Alabama. He won the state in 2016 with 63 percent of the vote. Since then, his approval rating among Republican voters has climbed to between 85 percent and 90 percent.