The Democratic National Committee is facing criticism from some Democrats after deciding not to release an internal “autopsy” examining what went wrong in the 2024 elections.
Why It Matters
Democrats remain split over what drove their losses last year, when President Donald Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris and Republicans took control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Some Democrats point to former President Joe Biden’s choice to run again—and his later decision to exit the race—as a major factor. Others argue the economy played the central role. Another camp says Harris’ campaign failed to motivate enough voters to turn out. The DNC conducted hundreds of interviews with Democrats to produce a report assessing those losses. The choice not to publish it highlights ongoing friction between party leaders and many rank-and-file voters.
What to Know
DNC Chair Ken Martin chose not to release the report. In a statement provided to Newsweek, Martin said the party has “completed a comprehensive review of what happened in 2024 and are already putting our learnings into motion.”
“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.
That reasoning hasn’t satisfied many Democrats, who argue the party is avoiding transparency at the moment it’s most needed.
Democratic activist and former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg criticized the decision on X. “I ran for DNC vice chair after massive losses in 2024 because I believed we needed to change our party. Leadership disagreed with my work to primary asleep-at-the-wheel incumbents and challenge the status quo,” he wrote. “Now, they are spiking an autopsy of the election that gave us Trump 2.0. If party leaders won’t take the steps required to rebuild ourselves into a winning coalition, we will take it into our own hands.”
Democratic strategist Lis Smith also weighed in on X, writing that she suspects “the reasons why this isn’t being released are precisely the reasons why it should be released.”
Jon Favreau, who served as a speechwriter to former President Barack Obama, called the decision “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. How does this rebuild trust between the party insiders and grassroots activists and organizers?” he wrote.
He continued, “Why does the party only trust people with the truth who are part of their insular club? And why on Earth would the DNC think that keeping their promise to release the report would create more of a backlash than announcing that they’re keeping it secret?”
Jon Lovett, another former Obama speechwriter, said the decision came off as “patronizing.”
“Why do you believe the engaged Democrats who care deeply about winning in 2026 and 2028 cannot handle the information you’ve gathered, @kenmartin73?” he posted.
Progressive commentator Nina Turner called the decision a “bad move.”
Some Democrats Back the Decision
Not everyone in the party agrees the report should be made public. Strategist Xochitl Hinojosa, a former DNC communications director, said on X that she “could not agree more with this decision.”
“We all know why Dems lost in 2024. The DNC has and should continue to make changes, and that is one of the reasons Dems have been winning up and down the ballot. Let’s stop looking back. Let’s look forward and continue winning,” she wrote.
Daniel Wessel, a Democratic strategist, also defended the move. “Does anyone really think we need to keep rehashing 2024? This is objectively the right decision. Democrats just won a bunch of elections. At this point, there is more to be gained from looking forward than continuing to beat a dead horse,” he posted on X.
What People Are Saying
Martin, in a statement: “We 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. In our conversations with stakeholders from across the Democratic ecosystem, we are aligned on what’s important, and that’s learning from the past and winning the future. Here’s our North Star: does this help us win? If the answer is no, it’s a distraction from the core mission.”
Amanda Litman, president of Run for Something, on X: “I get that the autopsy would’ve kicked off a s***show of a conversation that would have been deeply exhausting — but transparency builds trust, & especially going into the year when the DNC will shape the presidential primary process, it matters that people trust it.”
Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross, also on X: “We are reminded of how badly 2024 went every time Trump speaks, with each rising bill, with unemployment surging…the autopsy should be internal and advise strategy moving forward. The 2024 election was brutal but more hand wringing won’t help.”
What Happens Next
Democrats’ next major test comes in the 2026 midterms, when every seat in the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate will be on the ballot.
