In an ironic twist, the Democrats’ quest to find out what went wrong in 2024 has itself gone terribly wrong.
After more than a year of anticipation, suspicion, and all-around controversy, the Democratic National Committee finally turned over a version of its 2024 election autopsy to CNN, which published it Thursday, albeit with DNC-authored caveats about its findings, including criticisms of former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris, for instance, “wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate.”
The report also concluded that Harris had a “Definition Problem.”
“Harris struggled with definition beyond ‘not Trump’ and ‘prosecutor vs. felon,’” the report read.
Those general assessments of Harris’ shortcomings appeared in a section of the report that contrasted the former vice president’s performance with that of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein of North Carolina, who handily won his 2024 gubernatorial election in a state that Harris lost.
More tellingly, however, the DNC stopped well short of endorsing the report’s findings. In fact, it did everything it could to qualify or even disavow its own admittedly unfinished report.
For instance, each page of the 192-page report featured a heading with the following disclaimer:
“This 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.”
And who was that “author”?
According to CNN, beleaguered DNC Chair Ken Martin originally entrusted the autopsy to a friend, Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, who then worked on the project part-time.
As the autopsy remained unfinished throughout 2025, Martin kept changing deadlines for its release. First, he promised to deliver it in the spring, then in the summer, then in October, and then after the November elections.
With each change, Democrats’ frustrations mounted. As a result, what CNN called a “rat’s nest of self-serving conspiracy theories” developed. Democrats speculated, for instance, that Martin meant to protect Harris ahead of her possible 2028 presidential bid. Why else would he keep delaying the report’s release?
Finally, in a podcast appearance last month, Martin announced that he would not release the report at all. Democrats talked openly about replacing the DNC Chair.
Meanwhile, CNN “obtained extensive details” about the unfinished report’s contents. At that point, DNC officials gave the network what they claimed was everything they had in their possession.
Hence, Thursday’s publication.
For his part, Martin expressed contrition and embarrassment over the autopsy process and its result.
“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,” Martin said in a statement to CNN. “When I received the report late last year, it wasn’t ready for primetime — not even close — and because no source material was provided, it would have meant starting over. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on the report that was produced.
“After last November’s massive Democratic wins, I didn’t want to create a distraction, but by not putting the report out, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction,” he continued. “For that, I sincerely apologize. For full transparency, I am releasing the report as we received it, in its entirety, unedited and unabridged. 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.”
In other words, Martin released the unfinished report to counter accusations of the DNC’s dishonesty.
To some insiders, however, the report merely confirmed the organization’s incompetence.
“The notion that any of this was nefarious or by design … ” one former DNC official told CNN. “It’s much more Keystone Kops than that.”
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
