The much-watched race for U.S. Senate in Alabama just got a bit less interesting but also a bit safer for Republican chances of victory.

Republican Secretary of State John Merrill dropped out of the fiercely contested primary. Merrill announced on Sunday that he is withdrawing because his “path to victory” largely disappeared once Jeff Sessions, former senator and U.S. attorney general, entered the race. His assessment of how Sessions affected his chances is almost surely correct. Merrill’s familiarity with voters and his fundraising potential trailed four other candidates who have stratospheric statewide name identification: Sessions, congressman and former gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne, former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.