After the 2020 election, pundits often opined that Democrats are in deep trouble with Latinos. And they insisted Democrats’ brand is a killer in rural areas. The 2022 midterms showed something very different.

The moderate think tank Third Way looked at 10 states and categorized counties there as urban, rural or suburban. It found that a flock of Democratic candidates outperformed President Biden’s results from 2020 in rural counties, including Pennsylvania Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro (who improved upon Biden’s 2020 showing by 15.2 points), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (10.4 points), Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (8.8 points), Pennsylvania Sen.-elect John Fetterman (7.2 points), and Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.) and Mark Kelly (Ariz.), both of whom beat Biden’s showing by more than 6 points.

In the Kansas gubernatorial race, Third Way reported: “[Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly] outperformed Biden in every Kansas county. Kelly saw an average 22.7-point leftward swing from Biden in 2020 in rural counties, and she had similarly strong swings in urban, suburban, and exurban counties compared to 2020.”

In other words, centrist candidates who made an effort to campaign everywhere scored well with rural voters. Even Tim Ryan, the Democrat who lost Ohio’s Senate race, did nearly five points better than Biden in rural areas. In an appearance at a Third Way event, Ryan counseled, “You have to go where the people are, and that’s why another thing I’ve said is, you can’t be afraid to go on Fox News.” He added: “That’s where people are. That’s where they live. So go on there and make your case.”

It’s an uphill fight for Democrats in some rural areas, but not impossible. “If they don’t think you care, and you don’t show up, you’re just affirming their view,” Ryan said. He added, “People may disagree with you on certain issues, whether it’s being pro-choice or antiabortion or pro-death penalty or whatever your views are on immigration, but if they feel you’re genuinely concerned about how they’re doing economically, they’ll still consider voting for you.”

Democrats don’t necessarily have to win in rural areas to win in a state such as Pennsylvania, Michigan or Georgia, but they do have to keep it close. That’s what winning centrist Democrats did.

When it comes to Latino voters, many in the media were convinced that the 2020 election signaled the beginning of the end of the Democrats’ dominance among Hispanics. It turns out Democrats have a Florida problem, but not so much a Latino problem.

NBC News reports, “In Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, Latinos have stuck with Democrats, and that has helped power the party’s gains across a region where Latino population growth has exploded.” And Latinos are not a monolithic group: “One analysis by Equis Research, which looks at Latino voting patterns, saw solid support for Democrats in places like Nevada and Arizona. Its analysis also showed that in Philadelphia, Democratic Sen.-elect John Fetterman outperformed Joe Biden’s 2020 results with Latinos.”

Nevada is a particularly illustrative example. The state’s Latina incumbent, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, frequently engaged with Latino voters, starting early with Spanish-language ads. She won 62 percent of the Latino vote.

The exaggerated media narrative has lacked nuance and context. Among more conservative Latino groups, especially Cuban Americans and Venezuelan Americans, Republicans have improved. But elsewhere, Democrats’ economic message sold well. (Contrary to conventional wisdom, Latino voters are overwhelmingly pro-choice. According to one survey, “74% of Latino registered voters agree that a woman has a right to make her own personal, private decisions about abortion without politicians interfering.”)

The key takeaway: Centrist Democratic candidates can appeal everywhere and among the entire electorate. They managed to flip multiple House seats and beat back MAGA extremists. As Third Way noted: “Successful candidates were able to overcome the baggage of the party brand by distancing themselves from the far left. When asked which party has nominated more extreme candidates this cycle, voters chose Republicans by a seven-point margin (44%-37%). Among swing voters, that margin was twenty points. In key states including Ohio (10 points), New Hampshire (12 points), and Georgia (3 points), moderate candidates significantly outperformed other Democrats on the statewide ballot.”

Candidate quality matters. So does a record of economic accomplishment and a vigorous campaign ready to meet voters where they are (geographically and otherwise). A good candidate with a good record and a good ground game will, all things being equal, beat a flaky candidate with an extreme record — or no record at all — who thinks historic trends will do the work for them.

Democrats should not sit on their laurels. In 2024, tough Senate races in red states such as Ohio, Montana and West Virginia await. And the party is in near-collapse in Florida. But all things considered, the media might want to spend more time figuring out how Republicans are managing to lose so many segments of the electorate. For now, they are the ones who are in “disarray.”