DNC Chair Ken Martin released the 2024 election autopsy. Unedited.

[CousinIT]

Here it is:

https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/May-20-2026.pdf

I received an email announcing that he was releasing it. Here is a snip:



Here's the Substack post also containing the message and the link: https://blueprint.democrats.org/p/a-message-from-dnc-chair-ken-martin

Read more about what I have to say here: democrats.org/after-action

— Ken Martin (@kenmartin.bsky.social) 2026-05-21T14:05:03.864489088Z

[Celerity]

1. Good news.

[dalton99a]

2. "We either adapt to the changing conditions of the arena, or history will leave us behind."

[CousinIT]

3. Well that's certainly true. n/t

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. Pretty clear he withheld it because it was hot garbage. He should have just said that.

[TheProle]

6. Yeesh

Unfortunate reductions in support and training for our state parties, consequential shifts in voter registration, a loss of partisan organizing capacity, and a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters has provided the other major party with opportunities for advancement at the expense of Democratic growth, evolution, and ability to find common ground with seemingly disparate groups of voters from coast to coast, and the heartland Democrats tend to ignore.

Historically, Democrats have held the advantage in each of these areas. The Democratic Party
has always tried to be seen as the party of the people, the party of workers, fair play and civil
discourse. The party’s connections with working Americans and their families were forged
through decades of organizing and engagement, the development of a vibrant and inclusive party infrastructure, and a relatable agenda which helped us connect in homes, workplaces, and
neighborhoods across the country.

[Renew Deal]

9. Agree

But it also raises the question of whether a proper review will be completed.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

16. why start now?

[CousinIT]

5. Conservative Nazi Network (CNN) has already rushed to (mis)interpret it

It's red meat for the MAGA, so why wouldn't they?

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/21/politics/dnc-autopsy-takeaways-vis

[TheProle]

7. Streisand effect in full bloom

[SocialDemocrat61]

12. Of course they are

This is why there was no need to make it public.

[Renew Deal]

8. Seems like the big message is the report is poorly sourced and completed

So basically, a proper autopsy was not completed. Martin wasn't willing to say publicly that the report was poor quality. Are they going to just let that be the last word on 2024? I hope not.

[CousinIT]

14. Yeah. There was no proper autopsy. And what there is here...

...was written by one consultant - unsourced - and not anyone from the DNC.

[SocialDemocrat61]

10. So now the corrupt corporate media

and republicans will have the opportunity to spin, quote out of context and otherwise distort what the report says to attack democrats.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

13. That's why I hoped it would stay unreleased n/t

[AZJonnie]

18. Me too. I knew that's exactly what would happen.

Also, telling your enemy what you believe you did wrong in the past, and insinuating what your strategies will be in the future, is just plain dumb generally.

The decisions of this party, I swear to dog sometimes

[CousinIT]

11. I've screamed about this myself. *Many* times...and I'm still doing it.

Dems MUST COORDINATE THEIR MESSAGING and splatter it EVERYWHERE. They're 40 years behind on the messaging game. Both elected Democrats and election organizations (DNC, DSCC, DCCC). When they are out of power in particular, they have two very powerful weapons: MEDIA & MESSAGING.

Of course, screaming that at aides who run the Congressional, DNC, DSCC, and DCCC BlueSky accounts is useless. They likely never read the messages there and rarely, if ever, pass them on to anyone who would read or listen.

It paints the GOP as more successfully flooding the zone with its messaging and Democrats as too feeble and limited to fight back as hard.

“At times, it seems Democrats are trying to win arguments while Republicans are focused on winning elections,” the report says. “Democrats operate in an ecosystem defined by reason even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”

It repeatedly faults Democrats for not being “always on” and messaging harder.

“The difference is right-wing interests take a longer-term approach and amplify polarizing messaging and candidates within the Democratic family with the intention of ‘othering’ all Democrats,” the report says. “Without aggressive pushback and tactics, it works.”

[CousinIT]

15. Rothkopf (who I respect a lot): "Warning to Democrats..."

Warning to Democrats inclined to maintain their sanity: The DNC post-mortem is not only a pretty superficial and inadequate piece of work, it will now be interpreted by every faction within the party to support their point of view regardless of whether it actually does or not. Sigh.

— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf.bsky.social) 2026-05-21T15:13:02.145Z

[EdmondDantes_]

17. Having not read it, but having read many of the responses here

That seems pretty accurate.

[CousinIT]

19. I did it myself...

Guilty!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=21252252