They said it couldn’t be done.

In a right-to-work, anti-union state like Nevada, they said voters wouldn’t elect candidates who fight for working people.

They were wrong.

Last week, we regrouped to look back at the historic victory UFCW 770 members helped win in Nevada. Leading up to the Midterms, a group of fired up members took paid leaves from their jobs to travel to Las Vegas and get out the vote.

The results were huge. Thanks in part to 770 members knocking door-to-door, voters elected the first Democratic governor in Nevada in two decades, Steve Sisolak, and kicked out Republican Senator Dean Heller, who helped pass last year’s corporate tax cut.

It was a big moment for working people, especially in a fiercely anti-union state.

More importantly, our GOTV volunteers are bringing their energy and hard-earned lessons back home to California to keep fighting.

Here’s what we learned:

1. It’s never too late to start organizing

You don’t need to be an experienced campaigner to make a difference. In fact, many of the members who traveled to Nevada were volunteering for the very first time, like Nicole Parraz, a Food4Less cake decorator from Palmdale.

“This was my first experience organizing with the union and it opened my eyes to just how important the union is. I met a lot of great people, and it was a life-changing experience. It made me want to continue to help organizing.”

2. Attitude is everything

Tracy Cason, a 770 pharmacy assistant at Kaiser Permanente for 20 years, was also a first-time political volunteer in Nevada. For her part, she wasn’t sure how to canvass or talk to voters, but jumped in with enthusiasm – and it paid off.

“I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, but when I watched the election results, I was so happy. All that hard work, all that heat. It paid off. To make a difference was such a good feeling.”

3. We need to keep the momentum going

Ludmila Blanco from CVS has been politically active literally since she was a child. She knows that it’s “constant fight” against employers for better rights — and that we need to stay vigilante if we’re going to keep winning.

“As a Salvadoran child, my parents were politically active here. At the age of five, I was marching in downtown LA for the war to stop in El Salvador. I was taught that we need to stand up, and peacefully fight, and not give up. Being part of the union is bringing [my identity] – this is me, this is the fighter that I’ve been since I was a child. We ought to fight for our rights.”

If you’re interested in fighting for your rights and pitching in during organizing campaigns like Ludmila, sign up below and we’ll get you started on everything you need to know.