WI: Julius Caesar loses election to pontifex Maximus

Julius Caesar, before he was even elected to any position of more in the senate, ran for and shockingly won the election for pontifex Maximus. He gambled everything on winning this election and knew if he lost, he'd be ruined, least of all because he would have no way of paying off his enormous debts he incurred for his campaign and everything that went with it. He famously said to his mother, "either I will return home pontifex Maximus or I will not return at all."

So what if he had lost? Surely it would be the end of his political career and maybe his life. What would this mean for the future of the republic as a whole?
 
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