NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower," according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released Thursday by the Democratic National Committee that did little to quell Democrats' concerns about the direction of their party.
The committee's chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from Democratic operatives frustrated with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy months ago, only to keep it under wraps because he worried it would interfere with Democrats' mobilization to take back control of Congress in the midterms.
“I didn’t want to create a distraction,” Martin wrote on Substack. “Ironically, in doing so, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction. And for that, I sincerely apologize.”
He said the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime,” and the DNC covered the document with annotations and disclaimers saying it was incomplete and unsubstantiated.
The report's release did nothing to temper irritation at Martin, and Democratic insiders were exasperated as they spent the day talking about a two-year-old election instead of focusing on Trump's unpopular war in Iran, surging prices or the backlash against the president's White House ballroom.
Indeed, the initial reaction to the report was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin’s handling of the situation.
“The execution, the rollout and the coverup are indicative of how Ken Martin is fundamentally not up to the task,” said Amanda Litman, who leads the Democratic-allied organization Run For Something. “He will be incapable of rebuilding the trust necessary to facilitate a Democratic primary in 2027-2028.”
Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats' focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him after he dropped out or the party's acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.
“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin said. “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.”
During a conversation with staff Thursday, Martin announced that the report's primary author, consultant Paul Rivera, was no longer working with the DNC, according to a person on the call not authorized to speak publicly about the private discussion.
Source: WPLG
