Democrats bicker over whether a 2024 autopsy is needed, more than a year later

A long-promised autopsy of the Democratic Party’s losses in 2024 has yet to materialize, and it’s becoming a growing source of frustration for Democrats still looking for answers for why they lost the White House for a second time to President Trump. 

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin angered Democrats in November when he first announced that the party would not be releasing the autopsy. 

The issue has resurfaced in recent days as Martin has doubled down on the issue. This week, the chair defended the party’s ongoing internal assessment, saying it would result in looking backward or “navel-gazing” — as he put it — at a time when they’re looking ahead. 

Martin’s comments have angered Democrats who want answers. 

“It raises more questions than it answers to conduct an autopsy and then not release it,” Democratic strategist Christy Setzer said. “Why make the diagnosis if you’re not going to tell the patient what they have? Did Kamala Harris punch above her weight but fall victim to a too-short campaign, or did she vastly underperform, and for what reasons?”

Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons called not releasing the document “dumb.” 

“Get all of the dirt out of the wound now so we can all heal,” he said. “Ignoring it is never the best way to solve a problem. This is politics and in politics trust, confidence and perception matter more than facts, and if you’re the new chairman, you should tell the story because you weren’t involved.”

Democrats are feeling increasingly optimistic about their chances in the midterm elections, with the Senate looking very much in play — something that was not........

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