A long-suppressed internal Democrat Party report examining the left’s crushing 2024 presidential election defeat is drawing sharp criticism not only from Republicans, but also Democrats who say the document failed to confront the real reasons voters abandoned the party.
The 192-page post-election “autopsy,” commissioned by the Democratic National Committee was released to the public after being leaked to CNN. DNC Chairman Ken Martin had reportedly spent months trying to keep the report under wraps despite earlier promises of transparency.
The study largely blamed former President Joe Biden and his inner circle for failing to prepare former Vice President Kamala Harris for a presidential run before Biden abruptly withdrew from the race in July 2024 following his widely panned debate performance against President Donald Trump.
“The White House did not position or prepare the Vice President,” the report concluded, calling it a “significant failure of imagination.”
But critics across the political spectrum said the document avoided deeper issues that contributed to Trump’s sweeping victory, including voter concerns over inflation, immigration, crime, cultural issues and dissatisfaction with the Democrat Party’s overall direction.
The report acknowledged that Democrats alienated many working-class and socially conservative voters by focusing heavily on progressive social causes while neglecting “kitchen-table concerns.” It also admitted the Harris campaign largely abandoned rural America and failed to connect with male voters.
To their own peril, many Democrats are still adhering to the policies of open borders, defund the police, men in women sports, and allowing non-citizens and those without identification to vote. Democrats—and even some Republicans in GOP primary elections—have suffered defeat by resisting President Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda.
Some Democrat strategists, including former President Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod, blasted the report itself as poorly executed and politically embarrassing. “Given the current challenges Dems face, this kerfuffle over the DNC's decision to bury its ‘autopsy’ on the '24 race, finally released today, was a needless waste of time,” Axelrod commented.
Martin distanced himself from the autopsy after its release, saying, “I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards.”
Conservative commentators argued the report ignored what they described as obvious political realities, including concerns over Biden’s age and mental fitness, Harris’s weak favorability ratings and growing voter frustration with what many perceived as elitist messaging toward working-class Americans.
The release comes as Democrats continue struggling nationally following major losses in the White House, Senate, governorships and state legislatures over the past decade, raising new questions about whether party leaders fully understand why voters rejected their message in 2024.