{"id":2337,"date":"2026-05-21T16:41:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T16:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/21\/democrats-belatedly-publish-2024-presidential-election-autopsy-report\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T16:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T16:41:17","slug":"democrats-belatedly-publish-2024-presidential-election-autopsy-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=2337","title":{"rendered":"Democrats belatedly publish 2024 presidential election autopsy report"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"2b29670c-d597-4a44-9365-08ffae125379\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a woman smiles as she walks in front of blue curtains\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/31407d828fe290c135f7450cd34a114858a6704c\/0_0_6386_4259\/master\/6386.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310.12135922330094\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Kamala Harris prepares to speak at a campaign rally on the eve of Election Day in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on 4 November 2024.<\/span> Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"2b29670c-d597-4a44-9365-08ffae125379\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Kamala Harris prepares to speak at a campaign rally on the eve of Election Day in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on 4 November 2024.<\/span> Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Democrats belatedly publish 2024 presidential election autopsy report<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>DNC chair Ken Martin apologizes for initial bid to block release of report on the party\u2019s disastrous election defeat<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/democrats\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Democrats<\/a> have belatedly published a postmortem on the party\u2019s disastrous 2024 election defeat, after an initial decision to withhold the document triggered an angry backlash.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), released the<a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/May-20-2026.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"> report <\/a>\u2013 accompanied by an apology to party members angered by his initial decision to keep the analysis of Kamala Harris\u2019s loss to Donald Trump and defeat in both houses of Congress under wraps.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Martin had initially declined to publish the report, authored by a veteran Democratic strategist, Paul Rivera. He cited a need to focus on this year\u2019s midterm elections and avoid re-opening old wounds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The decision backfired, leading to a crisis of confidence in Martin\u2019s leadership among senior Democrats, and accusations that he was keeping the findings secret.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The report focuses on key demographics that Harris lost \u2013 including Latinos, men and rural voters in many states \u2013 and compares her performance to other Democrats in key state races, such as North Carolina governor Josh Stein.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">It also takes an in-depth look at campaign spending and advertising, and highlights the need to involve new voters in campaign messaging rather than just pushing out messages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Notably, the autopsy does not mention the role that Joe Biden\u2019s age or the US\u2019s support for Israel\u2019s war on Gaza played in the wider Democratic defeat, despite widespread polling about the impact of those issues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Martin acknowledged the lack of comprehensive findings, saying the report \u201cdoes not meet my standards [and] will not meet your standards\u201d. But he added its release was dictated by the public\u2019s need \u201cto trust the Democratic Party\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Issuing a convoluted explanation for his actions on Thursday, Martin said: \u201cWhen I received the report late last year, it wasn\u2019t ready for primetime. Not even close. And because no source material was provided, fixing it would have meant starting over, from the beginning \u2013 every conversation, every interview, every data set.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cAt the time, Democrats had just come off a series of massive wins in November\u2019s off-year elections, and midterm season was about to start. In December, I announced we would shelve this report, and I meant what I said at the time \u2013 that I didn\u2019t think dwelling on 2024 or looking backwards so late in the game helped us to win elections. And at the end of the day, winning elections is my job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Martin added: \u201cIn short, I didn\u2019t want to create a distraction. Ironically, in doing so, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction. And for that, I sincerely apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Misgivings about the quality and contents of the 192-page document are stated graphically at the beginning and at the top of each page in the form of a disclaimer marked in red, stating: \u201cThis document reflects the views of the author, not the DNC. The DNC 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Sections thereafter are punctuated with multiple qualifiers questioning sourcing, data accuracy or a perceived lack of evidence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">One qualifier undermines the author\u2019s version of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters bent on overturning the 2020 presidential election result, which he states led to the deaths of five people. \u201cClaim contradicts public reporting\u201d, reads an interposed remark. In fact, five people died within 36 hours of the attack. A further four police officers who responded to the insurrection died by suicide in the following seven months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/democrats\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-elections-2024\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US elections 2024<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/kamala-harris\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Kamala Harris<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/joebiden\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Joe Biden<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Democrats%20belatedly%20publish%202024%20presidential%20election%20autopsy%20report&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/21\/democrats-2024-election-autopsy?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F21%2Fdemocrats-2024-election-autopsy&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/21\/democrats-2024-election-autopsy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kamala Harris prepares to speak at a campaign rally on the eve of Election Day in Allentown, Pennsylvania,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}