The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has released its full, unredacted review of the 2024 presidential election loss after months of growing pressure on party chair Ken Martin. The report, first obtained by CNN, came out on Thursday.
The release is significant because Martin’s decision to keep the report secret had created a crisis of confidence in his leadership among many top Democrats. Martin had argued earlier that releasing the analysis would distract from preparing for the 2026 midterms and hurt party unity. However, Democrats continue to argue over what caused their 2024 defeat as they look ahead to the 2028 presidential race.
Many party members blame former President Joe Biden for running for re-election at age 81, his poor performance in the debate against Donald Trump, and the quick decision to make Vice President Kamala Harris the nominee after Biden stepped aside. The report, however, does not examine these major issues in depth.
Martin’s Distancing and Apology
When Martin released the report, he also issued a statement distancing himself from its findings. In a Substack post, he wrote, “I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards and it won’t meet your standards.” He said that when he first saw the report last fall, he decided it “wasn’t ready for prime time. Not even close.” The document contains errors and lacks a strong conclusion about what went wrong.
The report itself includes an unusual disclaimer stating that it “reflects the views of the author, not the DNC.” It notes that the DNC was not given the underlying data, interviews, or sourcing for many claims and could not verify them.
Martin admitted that his attempt to avoid a distraction backfired. “Ironically, in doing so, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction. And for that, I sincerely apologize,” he wrote.
Even some of Martin’s allies have quietly described his handling of the autopsy as a self-inflicted problem. Martin had made the review a key promise during his campaign to become DNC chair. He then hired Paul Rivera, a longtime Democratic strategist who had not worked on a presidential campaign in more than 20 years, to write it.
One Democrat familiar with the situation told Axios: “This is still Ken’s problem and the people who are to blame the most are the DNC members still enabling him.”
Financial Struggles and Disorganized Process
The DNC is also facing money problems. This week, the Republican National Committee reported $124 million in cash on hand with no debt. In contrast, the DNC reported being $3 million in the negative after accounting for $17 million in debt.
People familiar with the process said the autopsy was disorganized from the start. Rivera worked on it part-time and did not begin reaching out to top campaign officials until fall 2025 — almost a year after the election. He did not interview Biden, Harris, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, or many of their senior aides, according to CNN.
Some Democrats claimed Rivera appeared to tell different interest groups what they wanted to hear. For example, in July 2025, he met with the pro-Palestinian group IMEU Policy Project and reportedly told them the war in Gaza hurt Democrats in 2024. However, the final report makes no mention of Israel or Gaza. Rivera did not respond to requests for comment.
Martin told DNC staff on a call Thursday that Rivera no longer works with the party.
Looking Ahead
Several Democrats had warned Martin against doing a public autopsy at all, arguing it would only lead to more internal finger-pointing. He moved forward because of his campaign promises but later reversed course and tried to keep the report private.
The delayed and messy release has added to ongoing questions about the party’s direction after its 2024 losses. As Democrats prepare for future elections, the controversy over the autopsy has only highlighted deeper challenges within the DNC.