Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin released the party’s 2024 election “autopsy” report, calling the election “one of the most painful and consequential losses and a “punch in the gut.”
“When I received the report late last year, it wasn’t ready for primetime. Not even close. And because no source material was provided, fixing it would have meant starting over, from the beginning – every conversation, every interview, every data set,” Martin said in a statement, adding that he did not previously release the report out of fear of creating a “distraction.”
“Ironically, in doing so, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction. And for that, I sincerely apologize,” he wrote. “I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards. I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”
The report, called “Build to Win. Build to Last,” argues that Democrats lost their own infrastructure and “relatable agenda.”
“The Harris campaign appears to have relied on Trump being unacceptable rather than building an affirmative case for Harris,” the report states. “Base voters needed reasons to vote FOR Harris as well as against Trump. Without an effective contrast with a difficult (and unaffordable) status quo, the obvious contrast with Trump was not a sufficient motivator, especially since there was not sufficient negative messaging about how horrible Trump was (and still is) for and to most Americans.”
The report notes that the Democratic Party’s “anti-Trump sentiment” has “limits.”
A disclaimer appears at the top of most of the pages reading: “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.”
