The Democratic National Committee on Thursday released a 192-page autopsy of the 2024 presidential election that the party's own chair, Ken Martin, publicly disowned in the same statement, saying the report "does not meet my standards" but that "transparency is paramount."
The release ends nearly six months of internal pressure over Martin's decision to shelve the review, and sharpened a separate question: whether he can stay on as chair through the 2026 midterms. Several Democrats have called on Martin to step aside, and the document itself, stamped on every page with a disclaimer that the DNC cannot verify many of its claims, has become Exhibit A for critics who say the party is unable to honestly diagnose its 2024 loss to Donald Trump.
What the report says
Written by Democratic strategist Paul Rivera, who Martin told a DNC call Thursday is no longer working for the committee, the report lays partial blame for Vice President Kamala Harris's defeat on former President Joe Biden's political operation. It says the operation failed to "effectively support" Harris after she became the nominee in July 2024.
The report also faults the campaign for failing to drive Trump's unfavorables. "The retrospective job approval for Trump was too high and the campaign and allies failed to remind voters of his incompetence," it says, according to CBS News.
A dedicated section analyzes a Trump attack ad that pollsters called "very effective," which used video of Harris voicing support for gender-affirming surgery for transgender inmates under the tagline "Kamala is for they/them. Trump is for you." The report concludes there was no available response, because Harris did not change her position.
What it leaves out
The document does not address Biden's age or the war in Gaza, two of the most-litigated questions inside the party since November 2024. It also does not say who was interviewed, though it claims hundreds of conversations were conducted, and it contains a factual error stating that a Capitol Police officer "was beaten to death" by the rioters on Jan. 6, 2021.
Editorial notes inserted throughout flag claims as having "no sourcing provided," as contradicting public reporting, or as inconsistent with data in the report's own charts.
How it came out
Martin commissioned the autopsy in January 2025. In December, after Democrats swept off-year races, he said he would not release it, calling such a release "a distraction from the core mission." On Thursday he reversed course, writing: "Ironically, in doing so, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction. And for that, I sincerely apologize."
The shift followed a phone call last week in which Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, widely viewed as a potential 2028 presidential contender, told Martin he was unhappy the report had not been released, according to people familiar with the conversation cited by CBS News. NBC News first reported the call.
The counter view
Democratic strategist Faiz Shakir, who ran against Martin for chair earlier this year, told PBS NewsHour the report is "a symptom, rather than the cause of the problems" facing the party, and said Martin had won the chairmanship "fair and square by a healthy margin." Shakir said the deeper issue is the party's reliance on what the report itself calls "negative partisanship" — running against Republicans rather than for an agenda.
No Republican or right-of-center outlet was represented in the wire reporting reviewed for this article, and the Republican National Committee had not issued a public response by Friday morning.
What's next
The DNC's summer meeting is the next forum at which members can formally move against Martin. Democrats are also bracing for a primary calendar that has already exposed intra-party fault lines: on Tuesday, progressive Chris Rabb won the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District — the most Democratic-leaning seat in the country — defeating three rivals, including the former state party chair, for the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Dwight Evans.