Is there a good template for what the "long strategy" working would look like?

There have certainly been candidates elected in the U.S. who at some earlier time would have been considered completely unelectable, but of course in each case it's possible to point to a variety of other causes for why they became electable besides the decision of voters to vote for them. Which is also what I would expect to see if the long strategy worked, since there are always lots of things going on.