Democratic officials and strategists blasted the Democratic National Committee on Thursday for withholding its autopsy of the party's loss in the 2024 presidential election, despite repeatedly pledging to release it.
Why it matters: Several Democrats — including many advising possible 2028 presidential candidates — said burying the report unfairly helps former Vice President Harris if she runs again, and shields top party consultants by hiding potentially damaging information about their efforts.
- "Kamala Harris certainly benefits from not having an open discussion" about the 2024 campaign, said Jeff Weaver, Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign manager in 2016 and top adviser in 2020 who's a frequent critic of the DNC.
- Mike Casca, chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, a potential 2028 presidential contender, asked whether everyone who worked on the DNC report committed to not working on a 2028 campaign. "Seems like a problem to me," he added.
- A DNC official said withholding the report wasn't aimed at helping or hurting any candidate.
Driving the news: DNC officials said they're keeping the report private to maintain the party's focus on winning back Congress in the 2026 midterms — and avoid further internal conflict over its chaotic 2024 cycle.
- DNC chair Ken Martin, who launched the autopsy effort earlier this year, said in a statement: "Here's our North Star: Does this help us win? If the answer is no, it's a distraction from the core mission."
- The DNC didn't make him available for an interview.
Many Democrats agreed with Martin.
- "Let's stop looking back," former DNC communications director Xochitl Hinojosa posted on X: "Let's look forward and continue winning" after several election victories this year.
But several Democratic strategists — including some advising potential 2028 presidential candidates — want the autopsy released.
- "How are Democrats going to learn from mistakes if we don't have any concept of the depth and breadth of those mistakes?" Rebecca Katz, an adviser to Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), told Axios.
- Lis Smith, a longtime adviser to former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, posted on X: "I suspect the reasons why this isn't being released are precisely the reasons why it should be released."
- Weaver is an adviser to Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a potential 2028 contender. He and the other strategists said they were speaking for themselves and not potential 2028 candidates.
Hosts of the influential Democrat-friendly podcast "Pod Save America" also slammed the DNC.
- "This is a very bad decision that reeks of the caution and complacency that brought us to this moment," Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior aide to then-President Obama, wrote on X.
- Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau wrote: "Unreal. The DNC's actual position is that if the public knew more about what Democrats got wrong in the last election, it would hurt the party's chances in the next election."
Zoom in: When Martin won the campaign to become DNC chair this year, he pledged to conduct a review of the 2024 election and make it public.
- Even Democrats supportive of his final decision to not release the report believe he mishandled it by taking too long and not having an organized process.
- The DNC interviewed hundreds of people across all 50 states and completed the report. But it abruptly pivoted in recent weeks in choosing not to release it — even a sanitized version for the public.
What they're saying: A person close to Harris said she "was not involved in any decision-making regarding the release of the autopsy, did not ask for it to be withheld. Nor was she aware of or briefed on its contents."
- "She also did not authorize any representatives to do so on her behalf," the source added.
- In his statement, Martin said the DNC "completed a comprehensive review of what happened in 2024 and are already putting our learnings into motion. And we're winning again — even in places that haven't gone blue in decades."
Some Democrats said they believe the DNC made the right call from a public relations standpoint — and that it will help unify the party ahead of the 2026 midterms.
- A former Biden administration official argued that Martin's move prevents a giant pre-Christmas fire among Democrats.
- The ex-official added, however, that not publishing the report helps Harris avoid some blame for not being able to defeat Trump in her 107-day campaign after then-President Biden dropped out of the race.
