Democrats are pressuring the DNC to release its 2024 autopsy report as debate grows over what the findings could mean for the midterms. Kamala Harris’ potential 2028 bid. (Credit: Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital)
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin is publicly disowning his party’s own 2024 election "autopsy," calling the long-delayed report a product that "does not meet my standards" after Democrats suffered what he described as a "painful. consequential" defeat to PresidentDonald Trump.
The blunt admission came as Martin described former Vice PresidentKamala Harris' 2024 defeat as a "punch to the gut". acknowledged the Democratic Party’s "brand is in trouble and needs repair."
"I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards,. it won’t meet your standards," Martin said of the report, adding that he could not "in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it."
Martin emphasized that he was releasing the report for the sake of transparency "as I received it – in its entirety, unedited. unabridged – with annotations for claims that couldn’t be verified."
DEMS DEMAND RELEASE OF HIDDEN DNC AUTOPSY AFTER 2024 COLLAPSE: ‘WE GOT OUR BUTTS KICKED’
Honoree Kamala Harris attends the Public Counsel Awards Dinner on April 29, 2026, in Beverly Hills, California.(Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
The report argues Democrats weakened their own political infrastructure through cuts to state party support, declining voter registration efforts. reduced grassroots organizing, while also failing to listen to key voting blocs — mistakes it says allowed Republicans to make gains with voters Democrats have increasingly struggled to reach, particularly in middle America.
Annotations that appear in the report, however, pick apart certain claims for lacking evidence.
In one such section. the report claims that "the Harris campaign appears to have relied on Trump being unacceptable rather than building an affirmative case for Harris," to which an annotation reads, "No evidence provided for this claim."
Ken Martin. chair of the Democratic National Committee, speaks during an interview at DNC headquarters in Washington on Sunday, November 2, 2025.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Following the Democrats’ sweeping losses in the 2024 election cycle, the DNC launched an internal autopsy investigating where the party fell short in securing a win in both the presidential election. the majority in Congress.
Democratic Party officials interviewed over 300 Democrats from all 50 states for the report, which Martin promised would examine the party's mistakes in 2024. offer a roadmap to victory going forward.
DEMOCRATS' MIDTERM PUSH CLOUDED BY INFIGHTING OVER PARTY KEEPING 2024 AUTOPSY UNDER WRAPS
There was controversy surrounding the report as it was being compiled, after reports last summer said the autopsy would skip analyzing whether then-PresidentJoe Bidenshould have run for re-election in 2024. would pass on judging key decisions made by Harris and her team, after she replaced Biden as the party's nominee with just over three months to go until the 2024 election.
Former President Joe Biden speaks to the South Carolina Democratic Party on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Columbia, S.C.(AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Despite facing growing calls from Democrats to release the report. DNC officials had argued it was being withheld ahead of the midterms to keep the party focused on retaking the House andSenatein November. Martin said in a statement at the time that if releasing the autopsy will not help Democrats win in the midterms. then it is purely a "distraction."
Other Democrats argued publicly releasing the autopsy before the midterms would improve transparency. help the party regroup ahead of November’selections.
Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser, Leo Briceno and Hannah Brennan contributed to this report.
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