By John Q. Hosedrinker 
The Democratic National Committee’s 192-page autopsy on the 2024 election loss to Donald Trump, though incomplete, assigns blame to former President Biden’s operation for failing to adequately position Kamala Harris as the party’s standard-bearer. The report details how the Biden team did not conduct surveys to support Harris, leaving her vulnerable to attacks, particularly Trump’s “very effective” anti-trans advertisements. Furthermore, it criticizes both the Biden and Harris campaigns for not sufficiently countering Trump’s momentum and for a lack of negative advertising. The analysis also suggests Democrats should de-emphasize abstract issues and identity politics, focusing instead on the economy, disaster relief, and housing affordability to better connect with voters in “Middle America” and the South.
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A recent Democratic “autopsy” report, though seemingly incomplete and unendorsed by the DNC chair himself, points a finger at the Biden team for not adequately preparing Kamala Harris to be the party’s standard-bearer in 2024. The narrative suggests that by not committing to a single-term presidency and facilitating a smoother transition of leadership much earlier, specifically after the 2022 midterms, President Biden’s operation significantly hampered Harris’s prospects. The timing of Biden’s eventual withdrawal, described as being “at the eleventh hour,” left Harris with a truncated four-month window to mount a competitive campaign, a period many feel was simply insufficient.
The report, which itself is under scrutiny for its quality and omissions, highlights a prevailing sentiment that the former president’s decision to seek a second term effectively robbed the Democratic Party of a crucial primary process in 2024. This lack of a primary, regardless of Biden’s presidential accomplishments, meant that voters didn’t have a chance to weigh in on potential candidates, issues, or gauge Harris’s individual appeal beyond her role as Vice President. The DNC, in this view, appeared to rely too heavily on a “she’s not Trump” strategy rather than developing a strong, issue-based platform that resonated with voters.
Furthermore, the internal party dynamics are cited as a contributing factor. Some observations suggest that Kamala Harris wasn’t a particularly popular choice in the 2020 primary, failing to even secure a top-five position. Without a 2024 primary, there was no clear indication of her current support base or the issues that truly mattered to Democratic voters. This meant the party went into the general election without a clear mandate or a robust internal debate about its future direction, leaving many voters feeling they had no compelling choices.
The sentiment of the “old men not passing the baton” is a recurring theme, suggesting a broader failure within the Democratic establishment beyond just the Biden administration. This perception, that the party leadership was too hesitant to embrace new leadership, is seen as a significant misstep that impacted the entire 2024 campaign. The idea is that the entire apparatus, not just the White House, fell flat, failing to adapt and prepare for the future effectively.
There’s a strong undercurrent that the DNC’s approach was characterized by a lack of transparency and a failure to meet the standards expected by its own members. The DNC chair’s own admission that he “is not proud of this product” and that it “does not meet my standards” speaks volumes about the internal dissatisfaction with the report and, by extension, the campaign it attempts to analyze. The implication is that the party leadership was not fully confident in the document’s findings, further underscoring a sense of disarray.
The critique extends to the notion that had Biden not run, he would have likely lost by a significant margin to a candidate other than Trump. This perspective emphasizes concerns about his age and health, suggesting that his re-election bid was ill-advised and that his inner circle’s efforts to manage perceptions around these issues backfired. The core argument here is that the decision to run again, rather than pave the way for a new leader, was a fundamental error that doomed the party’s chances.
The difficulty the Democratic Party faces in landing on a cohesive action plan, especially when contrasted with the perceived unity of conservative movements like Project 2025, is also brought up. However, this is often tempered by the understanding that the Democratic Party, by its very nature, must build broader coalitions. This internal diversity, while a strength in some respects, can also lead to infighting and a struggle to present a unified front, especially within the confines of a two-party system that often exacerbates these divisions.
A significant portion of the commentary suggests that blaming solely Biden is an oversimplification, while still acknowledging his administration’s shortcomings in supporting Harris. The argument is that Harris, as the candidate, also bore responsibility for her campaign’s strategy and choices, including her decision to remain closely aligned with Biden. The idea that the party apparatus as a whole needs to take accountability and implement changes, rather than relying on a singular scapegoat, resonates strongly.
The prevailing sentiment is that the path to victory was never about simply attacking Trump, but rather about presenting a compelling vision and delivering tangible benefits to the American people. The frustration is evident that many voters did not engage in what is seen as a fundamental civic duty to vote for the more suitable candidate, even when presented with limited options. This lack of engagement, combined with a perceived failure to address key issues effectively, is seen as a significant factor in the outcome.
The report, and the discussions surrounding it, also touch upon the failure of the Biden administration to more forcefully confront what some perceive as the seditious nature of the Republican Party. There’s a view that a more aggressive stance against what some describe as a “rebellious organization” might have been necessary to galvanize support and define the stakes of the election more clearly.
The core of the criticism, however, persistently circles back to Biden’s decision to run for re-election. The argument is that this choice, and the subsequent failure to withdraw and allow the party to select a more viable candidate through a genuine primary process, was a monumental error. This is exacerbated by the global trend of incumbent parties losing power in that election cycle, often attributed to widespread post-COVID inflation, which affected many nations and likely contributed to a general dissatisfaction with the status quo.
Adding another layer of complexity, some argue that underlying societal issues, specifically sexism, played a significant role in the election’s outcome, making it difficult for a female candidate to win, regardless of the campaign’s strategy or the support she received. The notion that American society is not yet ready to elect a female president is presented as a sobering reality that transcends campaign tactics.
Ultimately, the “autopsy” report, while flawed, serves as a catalyst for a broader discussion about the Democratic Party’s strategic missteps and leadership failures. The common thread is that the Biden team’s actions, or inactions, significantly undermined Kamala Harris’s chances in 2024. The failure to facilitate a timely transition, the absence of a robust primary process, and a perceived over-reliance on anti-Trump sentiment rather than a clear policy agenda all contributed to a campaign that, according to this analysis, was set up for failure from the outset.