Democrats will not release the ‘autopsy’ of their 2024 presidential loss
By David Wright, CNN
(CNN) — The Democratic National Committee said Thursday that it would not release a highly anticipated “autopsy” of the 2024 election, a decision aimed at unifying the party that also sidesteps uncomfortable and lasting divisions over its loss to President Donald Trump.
DNC Chair Ken Martin issued a statement on the decision, saying that the committee was “already putting our learnings into motion” and arguing that “we’re winning again,” pointing to strong performances in a series of off-year elections.
“We are aligned on what’s important, and that’s learning from the past and winning the future. Here’s our North Star: does this help us win? If the answer is no, it’s a distraction from the core mission,” Martin said.
Indeed, the party had galvanizing successes in off-year gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as over-performing in a series of special elections. But major disagreements remain about the future direction of the party. Those divides – ideological, generational, and stylistic – have persisted in 2025, exemplified by the raucous New York City mayoral contest and a range of burbling intra-party primaries in next year’s midterms.
Committee officials involved with the report, which included hundreds of interviews conducted across 50 states, had concerns that it would inflame ongoing tensions within the party at a time when they felt they had begun to generate winning momentum.
The officials said that over the course of conversations, they decided it would be a strategic failure on the part of the DNC to publicly look backward, arguing that they were already putting reforms to work.
The unreleased report specifically identified issues with Democrats’ resource management, noting that despite the party’s consistently robust funding, it had failed to effectively spend those funds. Complaints about the Biden-Harris ticket’s spending were among the top concerns voiced by Democrats in the wake of 2024 losses.
It also criticized a field organization that was characterized as disorganized and ineffective. Authors noted that door knockers were failing to generate successful contacts or meaningful, persuasive conversations, and that one-sided digital outreach had failed to break through. The report recommended modernizing these efforts and emphasized the need for qualitative insights over raw data.
In addition, the report criticized aspects of Democrats’ 2024 messaging, saying that the party had failed to respond adequately to voters expressing concerns about public safety and immigration – key issues that Republicans made central to their campaigns.
The conclusions of any autopsy could be uncomfortable for the party’s midterm candidates and the contenders for its next presidential nomination, notably former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost last year to Trump after replacing former President Joe Biden on the ticket. Harris has not ruled out another bid for the White House.
The-CNN-Wire
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