A sweeping internal review of the Democrats’ 2024 election losses, nearly 200 pages long, was released on Thursday. The autopsy report aims to explain why the party lost the White House and suffered nationwide electoral collapse. It contains damning findings on spending, media strategy, voter contact, and organizing failures, describing a party that has lost ground at every government level for nearly two decades. However, the report avoids several critical questions voters are asking about the cycle’s consequential decisions.
What’s Not in the Report
Joe Biden’s Late Exit
The decision by Biden and the party apparatus to seek re-election despite cognitive decline and age concerns goes unexamined. Kamala Harris became the nominee without a single primary vote. The report treats this as an event that happened to the party, not a crisis it created and managed poorly.
Gaza and Israel
The words “Gaza” and “Israel” do not appear in the report. The “uncommitted” protest movement drew over 100,000 votes in Michigan’s primary, a state Biden won by 154,000 in 2020 and Harris lost by about 100,000. Post-election polls showed Gaza was a top concern for former Biden voters who didn’t back Harris.
Kamala Harris’s Identity
The report analyzes male, suburban, rural, and Latino voter gaps in detail but never examines whether Harris’s race and gender shaped media coverage, voter perception, or attacks against her.
Joe Rogan Podcast
Trump’s appearance on the Rogan podcast was a major political interview reaching millions of voters Democrats lost. The Harris campaign’s decision to decline a similar invitation is not mentioned.
What’s in the Report
Voter Contact Spending
The campaign spent $150 million on voter contact out of a $2 billion budget, far below the recommended $300 million. Media expenditures totaled $1.04 billion, reflecting an outdated “strategy of scarcity.”
No Research on Harris
When Harris entered the race, her team found “no self-research on the vice-president” to guide research instruments. The White House “did not position or prepare the vice-president,” calling it a massive missed opportunity. Internal pollsters did not see ads before they aired.
Annotations Questioning Accuracy
The report includes red disclaimers stating it reflects the author’s views, not the DNC’s. Annotations note “no evidence for many claims,” “public reporting contradicts assumptions,” and “numbers appear inaccurate.” Some sections were not provided by the author.
Male Voter Collapse Solvable
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein won 51% of male voters while Harris won 40%. The report suggests the national campaign’s approach to male voters, especially young men of color, was a strategic failure, not an inevitable demographic shift.
