The Democratic National Committee (D.N.C.) is conducting an "after-action review" of the 2024 election, focusing primarily on actions taken by allied groups rather than decisions made by the Biden-turned-Harris campaign. Interviews with individuals briefed on the report indicate that it will not address whether former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. should have run for re-election or if former Vice President Kamala Harris was the appropriate choice to succeed him.
The audit is expected to avoid revisiting key decisions made by the Harris campaign, such as framing the election as a choice between democracy and fascism, and its response to attacks from Donald J. Trump regarding transgender rights. Party officials have described the draft as concentrating on the overall election rather than the presidential campaign itself.
Producing a candid review of a national electoral defeat poses political challenges, particularly for new D.N.C. chairman Ken Martin, who has faced internal conflicts and financial difficulties since taking office. Jane Kleeb, chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party, emphasized that the focus should be on understanding voter turnout rather than second-guessing campaign tactics.
Democrats, currently out of power at the federal level, are under pressure to demonstrate that they have learned from the November election results. The review, initiated in March and led by veteran Democratic operative Paul Rivera, has not yet been completed, but preliminary briefings suggest it will not address some significant issues, including Biden's timing in exiting the race.
Top Democrats have indicated that the report will not evaluate strategic decisions made by the Biden and Harris campaigns, and many senior officials from those campaigns have not yet been interviewed. D.N.C. officials have cautioned that the report's conclusions may change before its release this fall.
Sources familiar with the report's progress indicate it will focus on outside groups and super PACs that contributed significant financial support to the Biden and Harris campaigns. Kleeb expressed expectations that the report will shift party resources from traditional advertising to grassroots organizing.
The review is anticipated to criticize Future Forward, the main super PAC that spent $560 million supporting the campaigns, for its advertising strategy and lack of coordination with the Harris campaign. Future Forward's internal documents revealed that a significant portion of its advertising was directed at digital platforms, with only a small percentage being positive about Harris.
Despite the anticipated critiques, a Future Forward aide stated that the group has been open in discussions with the review's authors and denied that it would be solely blamed for the electoral loss. Rivera's team has conducted over 200 interviews with officials from all 50 states.
Additionally, other reviews are underway, including a project led by Jen O’Malley Dillon, which aims to document the technical and tactical decisions made during the campaign and by outside groups. This project will not be made public but will circulate privately among Democratic strategists.
The D.N.C.'s report is expected to differ significantly from the Republican National Committee's 2013 "Growth and Opportunity Project," which called for substantial changes following their defeat in the 2012 election. While many Republican leaders adopted its recommendations, Donald Trump's campaign diverged from these proposals, reshaping the party in his image.