Democrats finally release 2024 election autopsy after criticism

The Democratic National Committee released what it said was its full, unredacted autopsy of the 2024 presidential election on Thursday after months of mounting pressure on party chair Ken Martin, who was keeping the report secret.

Why it matters: Martin's handling of the autopsy has led to a crisis of confidence in his leadership among many top Democrats.

• Martin previously indicated he wasn't releasing the analysis of the party's 2024 losses to focus on the 2026 midterms and build unity within the party.
• Democrats are still debating and arguing over what went wrong in 2024 as they try to find a way forward and retake the White House in 2028.

Zoom in: The report, first released by CNN, contains errors and lacks a conclusion — an indication that part of the reason it hasn't been released before now was that it was poorly done.

• Martin selected Paul Rivera, a veteran Democratic strategist who is close to the chairman, to do the report, but Rivera had not worked on a presidential campaign in more than two decades and was conducting the autopsy part-time.
• The report has an unusual disclaimer, saying it "reflects the views of the author, not the DNC. The DNC was not provided with the underlying sourcing, interviews, or supporting data for many of the assertions contained herein and therefore cannot independently verify the claims presented."

What they're saying: "I sincerely apologize," Martin said in a statement. "For full transparency, I am releasing the report as we received it, in its entirety, unedited and unabridged. It does not meet my standards, and it won't meet your standards, but I am doing this because people need to be able to trust the Democratic Party and trust our word."

This is a developing story and will be updated.