On November 5, an electoral blue wave swept Virginia. The Democrats won both the House of Delegates and the state Senate, marking the first time in 20 years that they have controlled the lower house. This gives the Democratic Party full control of the state government, since the governor is Democrat Ralph Northam.

While the result indicates that Virginia is becoming an increasingly blue state, it also carries serious policy implications. Republicans have blocked most major Democratic-led legislation in Virginia, including repeal of the “right-to-work” law, gun safety regulations, and raising the state’s minimum wage. For example, after the Virginia Beach shooting in May that claimed the lives of twelve people, Northam called a special legislative session to deal with gun violence. Republicans refused to address the issue and adjourned the session after 90 minutes, failing to consider a single bill. Under a Democratic majority, significant changes may be seen on that front and on other issues.

I found the campaign of Lee Carter, a Marine veteran and a self-proclaimed member of the Democratic Socialists of America, especially interesting. In 2017, Carter was elected to represent Virginia’s 50th House district, which had been represented by Republicans since 1982. After serving one term he was up for re-election, running against Republican challenger Ian Lovejoy, a city councilman. Carter faced numerous attack ads from conservatives and a website dedicated to attacking his character by calling him a “deadbeat.” But his reputation held strong on the left wing of the Democratic Party. He amassed a Twitter following of more than 53,000, and Senator Bernie Sanders traveled to Virginia to campaign for him on the night before the election. The attention paid off at the polls, as Carter won with 53.3 percent of the vote.

Carter’s campaign demonstrated what it will take for Democrats to win in toss-up states that have been substantially affected by neoliberal policies and globalization. Despite being a vocal socialist, he focused on “kitchen table” issues and was able to show his character to working-class voters. He vocally supported policies such as ensuring universal health care coverage in Virginia, raising teacher pay, investing in renewable energy and ending fracking, and helping workers by repealing the right-to-work law that makes unionization harder and by raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Despite being well to the left of the common window of policy discourse in America in some respects, Carter quickly became a political sensation, both in his district and online. His campaign, along with many in Virginia, showed the political world that it is not necessary for politicians to “run to the center” to win in battleground districts. As Carter tweeted: “Some of the strongest pro-worker voices in the VA House are my colleagues that flipped red seats in Prince William [County] in 2017. And we all won re-election … And I still hear centrists saying ‘you can't stand up for your values too much if you want to win swing seats.’ C’mon, y’all.”

I think Lee Carter is entirely correct. Democrats should not be scared to show their true values. Working-class Americans are able to recognize when someone is fighting for them, and are increasingly rejecting the politicians of the past who sold out to corporate interests for campaign donations. I believe that Hillary Clinton couldn’t convince voters she would genuinely fight for them because she largely ignored the working class in the Rust Belt. Politicians such as Carter are demonstrating that even though they advocate certain policies deemed “radical” by mainstream media, the working class will support those who speak to the issues of its communities.

Looking toward 2020 and facing President Trump, Democrats should not be scared to stay true to their beliefs and advocate for the working class. Rather than conceding ground on issues such as universal health care and raising the minimum wage, they have the opportunity to win back the working class and regain their identity. For a party that currently struggles to sell its case to voters and relies too much on identity politics, staying true to liberal policies will signal to working-class Americans that the Democrats are on their side. When billionaires have a lower effective tax rate than teachers and mechanics (if we consider the taxes at all three levels of government, including payroll and sales taxes) and Trump’s tax cut has given so much to the wealthy, the Democratic Party has a great opportunity to win back the Rust Belt and other working communities. If the Democrats want to beat Trump in 2020, they must first look toward crucial states they lost in 2016 such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ohio. If the party can gain the trust of these industrial, working-class states, it will have a great shot at taking back the White House.