Yes, it worked in the 2021 California Governor's race. All Newsom (D) had to do was link his opponent to Trump (and there were clear links there) and a statistical tie became a landslide in a number of weeks. Now red and purple states aren't blue California and McAuliffe fumbled the ball in Virginia, but raise the spectre of Trumpism taking hold in 2022 and Trump (unleashed and unrestrained) returning to office in 2024 and people will flood the polling places to vote blue. Democrats are far from perfect but they are, at least, trying to help their constituents (those who voted for them and those who didn't) instead of being the party of outrage, revenge, grievance, and violence.