Democrats At Each Other’s Throats Again Over Infamous 2024 Autopsy

With the 2026 midterm elections fast approaching, Democrats are still at odds over whether to go public with the party’s internal post-mortem on the 2024 election.

Democrats in Congress, many of whom are up for reelection, appear to favor releasing the information — as does former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost spectacularly to Donald Trump after being thrust into the nomination when then-President Joe Biden bowed out with just over 100 days to go.

The Democratic National Committee has opted not to release the report, prompting some skepticism from within the ranks.

DNC Chair Ken Martin referred to the 2024 autopsy as a “distraction,” saying in mid-December that the party should be fully focused on winning the 2026 midterms.

“Here’s our North Star: Does this help us win? If the answer is no, it’s a distraction from the core mission,” he said at the time — and he’s been facing criticism ever since over the decision to keep the post-mortem, for lack of a better expression, buried.

But the autopsy, which reads a bit like a military after-action report, as it breaks down what went right and what went wrong in any given election cycle, is supposed to be a tool that can help current and future campaigns avoid the mistakes and capitalize on the positives from past campaigns.

“Why haven’t we put it out?” Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) asked before answering his own question. “Because we got our butts kicked. I think it’s going to be embarrassing, apparently, to some people.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) argued that the report was being scuttled in order to hide mistakes, saying, “They don’t want people to know the truth. They messed up. They didn’t listen to their Democratic base.”

Jeff Weaver, who served as campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in 2016, suggested that the move might be an attempt to set the stage for Harris to run again in 2028: “Kamala Harris certainly benefits from not having an open discussion.”

Others have also argued that Harris stands to benefit the most if the autopsy never sees the light of day, primarily because it could help her avoid renewed scrutiny of any mistakes she may have made during her abbreviated campaign. The DNC also stands to benefit from no one looking too closely at how, without a single primary vote, Harris was crowned the de facto nominee after Biden’s abrupt exit.

But Harris herself, according to a report from Fox News Digital, has signaled support for the post-mortem’s publication.

“I’ve said they should release it, and there’s no question,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) agreed. “The report got done. I think it’s good to always review why things were successful or not.”

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) was slightly more diplomatic in his approach, saying that he had no idea why the full report was still under wraps — and what’s more, he couldn’t speak to whether or not the DNC should release it.