DNC Releases Flawed Autopsy on Harris's 2024 Defeat

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) released a comprehensive autopsy report on Kamala Harris’s defeat by Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. The 192-page document, authored by veteran strategist Paul Rivera, was published after months of internal pressure and controversy surrounding DNC Chair Ken Martin's initial decision to withhold it.

The report is highly critical of Harris’s campaign strategy, particularly her approach to rural voters. According to the autopsy, 'Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate,' a strategy the report concludes was flawed as 'the math doesn't work.' It also highlights the party's failure to effectively drive Trump's negatives during the campaign.

Martin acknowledged the report's shortcomings in a statement accompanying its release. He wrote that he is 'not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards.' The document includes numerous disclaimers questioning the accuracy and sourcing of claims, with notes such as 'Claim contradicts public reporting' appearing throughout.

The report notably sidesteps several controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. It does not address former President Joe Biden's decision to seek reelection at age 81 or his subsequent withdrawal from the race in favor of Harris. Additionally, it makes no mention of the role that U.S. support for Israel's war on Gaza played in the Democratic defeat, despite widespread polling about its impact.

The release comes as Democrats grapple with internal divisions and a crisis of confidence in Martin's leadership. The report's publication was delayed by Martin's concern that it would be a distraction ahead of this year's midterm elections. However, his decision to withhold the document triggered an angry backlash from party members and operatives, leading to its eventual release.

According to Fox News, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) criticized the report for not mentioning Gaza once, calling it a major oversight that could alienate young voters. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) echoed this sentiment, stating that the party's support for Israel during the Gaza conflict was a significant factor in their loss. Additionally, Rep. Mark Veasey (D-Texas) called for Martin to resign, citing a lack of a plan to turn things around ahead of the midterm elections.

Democratic strategist Steve Schale described the report's release as 'an unmitigated s---show,' reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with both the document and Martin's leadership. Entire sections of the report were left blank, and it was reportedly riddled with omissions and factual errors. Aside from omitting any mention of the Gaza conflict splitting party voters, the report also failed to mention former President Joe Biden's age or Kamala Harris' selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

A former Democratic megadonor blasted his party’s newly released election autopsy, arguing the party doesn't need a lengthy report to understand why voters rejected them. John Morgan, who has previously given over a million dollars to the Democratic Party, revealed he didn’t give 'a penny' to the 2024 campaign once Vice President Kamala Harris took the helm. Speaking on 'Jesse Watters Primetime,' Morgan argued the DNC’s post-mortem report misses the mark, failing to address the party’s decision to embrace certain progressive social issues.

Morgan laid out that he believes the Democratic Party’s decision to embrace issues such as transgender athletes and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives hurt the party’s chances at the ballot box. 'One, DEI is D-E-A-D. Two, woke needs to be put to sleep. Three, transgender swimmers don't get to swim against girls, it's unfair. Four, you need to seal the border tight. And five, anything to do with Kamala or her staff,' Morgan said.

The report has set off a barrage of harsh critiques from mainstream quarters. The New York Times reported that the autopsy 'is disorganized and leaves entire sections empty' while 'often veering into political clichés and hard-to-follow explanations.' A CNN analysis pointed out that the autopsy 'contains lots of errors and curious inclusions – even some that are puzzling to have in a draft.'

The report evades discussing key political decisions, such as Joe Biden's decision to run for re-election until it was too late, and then coronating Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee without any process involving Democratic voters. Instead, the autopsy focuses much attention on matters like ad buys and fundraising, without coming to terms with why so many voters in 2024 were uninspired by the Democratic ticket and what it stood for.

The most extreme evasion in the autopsy is the dodging of the crucial importance of the Gaza genocide. In this way, the autopsy is in keeping with how the DNC has continued to function. As the governing body of the Democratic party, the DNC has twisted itself into untenable knots while excluding concerns about Gaza and Palestinians from any serious internal debate.

In an autopsy of close to 50,000 words, not one of them is 'Gaza,' or 'Palestinians' or 'Israel' or 'genocide.' Yet credible accounts tell of meetings where the autopsy’s author, Paul Rivera, privately acknowledged that Harris’s stance on Gaza hurt her election chances. The executive director of the Institute for Middle East Understanding, Margaret DeReus, said in a statement on Thursday that 'Ken Martin should release the information that the author of the autopsy told us clearly and unambiguously, which is that DNC officials’ review of their own data found Biden’s support for Israel to be a net-negative for Democrats in 2024.'

A wide detour around clear polling data was necessary to keep out of the autopsy the reality of measurable damage that Harris’s support for arming Israel did to her campaign. In August 2024, an IMEU/YouGov poll in three swing states found that for every vote Harris might lose by supporting an arms embargo on Israel, she stood to gain five votes.

The crisis of Democratic leadership is undermining the party’s potential to do what is imperative – roll back Republican power in the midterms and then win the race for the presidency in 2028.