The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Thursday finally made public its long-anticipated "autopsy" of the 2024 election, a report detailing why President Donald Trump secured victory over Kamala Harris and reclaimed the White House. The 192-page document, which DNC Chair Ken Martin had promised to release upon taking leadership of the party in early 2025, has been met with significant controversy and internal criticism, including from Martin himself.
"It does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards, but I am doing this because people need to be able to trust the Democratic Party and trust our word." — Ken Martin, DNC Chair
The report was authored by Paul Rivera, a veteran Democratic strategist who had not worked on a presidential campaign in over two decades and was hired by Martin, a close ally. However, the document's release was accompanied by a disclaimer from the DNC’s own legal team, stating that it "reflects the views of the author, not the DNC," and that the committee "was not provided with the underlying sourcing, interviews, or supporting data for many of the assertions contained herein and therefore cannot independently verify the claims presented."
DNC Chair Ken Martin did not shy away from expressing his dissatisfaction with the report's quality. He openly acknowledged its shortcomings, stating, "It does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards, but I am doing this because people need to be able to trust the Democratic Party and trust our word." Martin's decision to release the report came after months of public pressure, particularly following his initial reversal in December 2025 to shelve it entirely. This about-face triggered a wave of backlash within Democratic circles, ultimately forcing his hand.
In a statement, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation. "When I was elected DNC chair, I commissioned an after action review of the 2024 election that I wanted to be honest and transparent, and with actionable and specific takeaways for the future of the Democratic Party," he said. He continued, "In December, I announced we would shelve this report, and I meant what I said at the time — that I didn’t think dwelling on 2024 or looking backwards so late in the game helped us to win elections. In short, I didn’t want to create a distraction. Ironically, in doing so, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction."
The report itself is notably incomplete, lacking key sections such as a conclusion, an executive summary, and even "Notes for the reader." According to individuals familiar with the process, Rivera, who worked on the report part-time, proceeded slowly and did not begin contacting top campaign officials until the fall of 2025, nearly a year after the election. He reportedly failed to interview critical figures including President Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, or many of their top aides. The list of supposed interviewees was never delivered to the DNC despite repeated requests. Hours after the report's release, Martin informed DNC members on a call that Rivera "is no longer with or advises the DNC in any capacity." Rivera has declined multiple requests for comment.
Among the findings that were included in the report, Democratic messaging was identified as having "created tensions with key constituencies" on economic issues. The report also indicated that voter outreach efforts arrived too late in the election cycle, and there was a severe lack of alignment between the party’s main super PAC and then-Vice President Harris’s campaign. It acknowledged the Republican Party's dominance in modern campaign strategy, concluding that Democrats failed to adequately prepare Harris for success and ineffectively attacked President Donald Trump during the campaign. The document urged the party to move away from identity politics and to invest resources earlier in election cycles to better connect with voters.
However, several critical topics that openly divided Democrats leading into the November 2024 election were conspicuously absent from the report. These included any discussion of President Biden’s mental decline, the war in Gaza, or the party’s fracture over U.S. policy toward Israel. Notably, Rivera had met with the pro-Palestinian group IMEU Policy Project in July 2025 and reportedly told them the war in Gaza had negatively impacted Democratic performance in the 2024 election. Despite this, the final report makes no mention of "Israel" or "Gaza."
Jeff Cohen, co-founder of the activist group Roots Action, sharply criticized the omission, stating, "This alleged autopsy is almost worthless. There’s no mention of the Biden/Harris administration’s Israel policy that abetted the Gaza massacre. That cost votes, and helped Trump win."
The controversy surrounding the autopsy highlights deeper issues within the DNC. A Democrat familiar with the internal situation reportedly told Axios, "This is still Ken’s problem and the people who are to blame the most are the DNC members still enabling him." The financial health of the DNC also came under scrutiny, as it reported negative $3 million after accounting for $17 million in debt this week, starkly contrasting with the Republican National Committee’s reported $124 million cash on hand with zero debt. The release of the flawed autopsy has further fueled internal divisions and raised questions about the party's capacity for effective self-assessment and strategic planning moving forward.
