A year ago today, Hillary Clinton lost the presidency to Donald Trump. Ever since then, the Left’s refrain has been: “Bernie would have won.” In the face of pundit after pundit after pundit warning Democrats to embrace Wall Street, move to the center, and abandon policies like Medicare for All and tuition-free college, the Left has insisted that the only way to fight Trumpism is to to embrace an unapologetic message that appeals to all working people.

That was the theory. And the evidence from last night’s nationwide Democratic sweep suggests it’s also the case in practice, as mayoralties, city council seats, judgeships, and even state legislature seats around the country were won by not just unapologetically progressive Democrats, but open socialists as well.

Take Virginia. Democratic Socialists of America member, veteran, and Democratic candidate Lee Carter unseated Republican House majority whip Del. Jackson Miller in the 50th District. Carter had been largely abandoned by the state’s Democratic party after choosing to run on a platform calling for single-payer health care and curtailing big-money campaign finance, and openly opposing the Democrat-supported Dominion Energy plan for a natural gas pipeline and a high-voltage transmission line through residential neighborhoods. His opponents distributed mailers comparing him to Stalin. And ultimately, none of it mattered — Carter beat out a top-ranking Republican with an 84 percent lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union by 54 percent to 46 percent.