Henrico County Sheriff Mike Wade (R), left, answers a question as state Sen. A. Donald McEachin (D) listens in their final debate in Richmond on Oct. 20. (Alexa Welch Edlund/Richmond Times-Dispatch via Associated Press)

Ross Lawrence, a D.C.-based communications strategist, works at the American Enterprise Institute.

The stunning presidential outcome revealed an America more deeply divided and hostile to government-as-usual than many inside the Beltway could have ever imagined. Although there is a way forward from the turmoil, the answer most likely won’t come from Washington.

Instead, look south of the Potomac. Amid the tumultuous national primaries, you could be forgiven for missing one of Virginia’s most important political developments in 2016. In January, a three-judge panel in Richmond issued a ruling that altered the state’s political terrain significantly. The decision redrew Virginia’s 3rd and 4th Congressional Districts, acting on a judgment that legislators in 2012 diluted African American influence by crowding these voters into a single majority-minority district.

The move came as a number of other states, including North Carolina, Wisconsin and Florida, faced their own legal challenges to allegations of gerrymandering.

Virginia’s Republican congressional delegation challenged the timing of the decision and lost. With the 2016 election behind us, both parties must consider the long-term health of our democracy and point to this new map as an opportunity.

First, because redistricting breeds competitive elections, it’s undeniably good for voters. Experiences from Democratic inner cities and Republican rural towns show that one-party dominance can be a marvelous recipe for corruption and complacency. Research from the University of Oxford’s Petra Schleiter and Alisa Voznaya bolsters the point: In a study of 70 democracies, they find that meaningful party competition is crucial for limiting the scope of governmental corruption.

Second, one of Virginia’s two major parties is in dire need of a reset. The 2013 gubernatorial election saw Republicans get shut out of the three major statewide offices for the first time in nearly 25 years. With Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton carrying the commonwealth this week, no Republican has won a statewide race in the Old Dominion since 2009.

There is a glimmer of hope. Subtle yet powerful changes in how and where the parties compete for control of Congress could produce an enduring new landscape all their own.

Evidence that such a geographic realignment could spark a political one is already emerging. Consider what happened this cycle in Virginia’s 7th District, where popular Henrico County Sheriff Mike Wade was planning to challenge Rep. Dave Brat in a Republican primary. Instead, Wade ran for an open seat in the newly configured 4th District, transforming what was destined to be yet another intra-party squabble into a far more intriguing general election contest.

The two districts look little alike. The 7th is the very definition of a Republican stronghold, last electing a Democrat to Congress in 1968. The new 4th District, on the other hand, is 41 percent black and was carried by President Obama with 61 percent of the vote in 2012.

Wade’s record, emphasizing issues Republicans rarely touch in a congressional race, such as criminal-justice reform, was a good fit for this diverse district. For most of election night, he looked strong, trading leads with his Democratic opponent, state Sen. A. Donald McEachin, until the last 20 percent of precincts began reporting. McEachin prevailed, confirming the steep hill that Republicans had to climb.

A single congressional campaign, no matter how well fought, is rarely enough to turn the tide on decades of history. Good political habits must be formed from trial and error, and a lack of competition at the House level has stymied each party’s ability to communicate beyond its demographic niche.

No matter the result, Wade’s campaign is a model for what Republicans and Democrats must do across the country: Embrace new, supposedly hostile districts. Study them carefully. Learn from these voters while competing hard for their support.

Elections will be lost, as meaningful realignments don’t happen overnight. But if the parties can come together on anything, let it be competitive redistricting to help save the two-party system from itself. Given the factious legacy of the 2016 race, this path forward is more urgently needed than ever before.