{"id":838,"date":"2026-05-21T21:36:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T21:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838"},"modified":"2026-05-21T21:36:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T21:36:23","slug":"facing-intense-internal-pressure-dnc-releases-postelection-autopsy-that-criticizes-kamala-harris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838","title":{"rendered":"Facing intense internal pressure, DNC releases postelection autopsy that criticizes Kamala Harris"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Kamala Harris \u201cwrote off rural America” during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient \u201cnegative firepower,” according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released Thursday by the Democratic National Committee that did little to quell Democrats’ concerns about the direction of their party.<\/p>\n

Read more US stocks edge higher following the latest U-turn for oil prices<\/a><\/p>\n

The committee’s chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from Democratic operatives frustrated with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy months ago, only to keep it under wraps because he worried it would interfere with Democrats’ mobilization to take back control of Congress in the midterms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to create a distraction,\u201d Martin wrote on Substack. \u201cIronically, in doing so, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction. And for that, I sincerely apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the report was withheld because it \u201cwas not ready for primetime,\u201d and the DNC covered the document with annotations and disclaimers saying it was incomplete and unsubstantiated.<\/p>\n

The report’s release did nothing to temper irritation at Martin, and Democratic insiders were exasperated as they spent the day talking about a two-year-old election instead of focusing on Trump’s unpopular war in Iran, surging prices or the backlash against the president’s White House ballroom.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the initial reaction to the report was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin\u2019s handling of the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe execution, the rollout and the coverup are indicative of how Ken Martin is fundamentally not up to the task,\u201d said Amanda Litman, who leads the Democratic-allied organization Run For Something. \u201cHe will be incapable of rebuilding the trust necessary to facilitate a Democratic primary in 2027-2028.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats’ focus on \u201cidentity politics,\u201d it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden\u2019s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him after he dropped out or the party’s acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won\u2019t meet your standards,\u201d Martin said. \u201cI don\u2019t endorse what\u2019s in this report, or what\u2019s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC\u2019s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a conversation with staff Thursday, Martin announced that the report’s primary author, consultant Paul Rivera, was no longer working with the DNC, according to a person on the call not authorized to speak publicly about the private discussion.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Harris did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Report says Democrats don’t \u2018listen to all voters\u2019<\/p>\n

The postelection report, which was first released by CNN, calls for \u201ca renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMillions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and \u201ca persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Free speech or race-baiting? Tennessee shooting stirs debate over livestreamer\u2019s approach<\/a><\/p>\n

Thursday’s release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin\u2019s job isn’t in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.<\/p>\n

Few were satisfied with how Martin navigated the report’s release.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?\u201d Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.<\/p>\n

Were Democrats too nice?<\/p>\n

The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump’s negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats’ messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, \u201ceven in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,\u201d the report states. \u201cThe Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report continues: \u201cIt was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

The DNC appeared to reject these conclusions, adding annotations like “no sourcing or evidence provided.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump’s attack on Harris’ transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.<\/p>\n

Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was \u201cboxed\u201d in by the Trump campaign’s \u201cvery effective\u201d ad that highlighted Harris’ previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.<\/p>\n

Democratic pollsters believed that \u201cif the Vice President would not change her position \u2014 and she did not \u2014 then there was nothing which would have worked as a response,” the report said.<\/p>\n

\u2018The math doesn\u2019t work’<\/p>\n

The report criticized Harris’ outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party’s focus on \u201cidentity politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHarris wrote off rural America, assuming urban\/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn\u2019t work,\u201d the report says. \u201cYou can\u2019t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report also references Democrats’ underperformance with male voters of color.<\/p>\n

\u201cMale voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don\u2019t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n

Read more A turn lower for oil prices helps US stocks erase earlier losses<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Kamala Harris \u201cwrote off rural America” during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient \u201cnegative firepower,” according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released Thursday by the Democratic National Committee that did little to quell Democrats’ concerns about the direction of their party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFacing intense internal pressure, DNC releases postelection autopsy that criticizes Kamala Harris - South Florida Moving Guides<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Facing intense internal pressure, DNC releases postelection autopsy that criticizes Kamala Harris - South Florida Moving Guides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Kamala Harris \u201cwrote off rural America" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient \u201cnegative firepower," according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released Thursday by the Democratic National Committee that did little to quell Democrats' concerns about the direction of their party.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Florida Moving Guides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-21T21:36:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/20969a46eb23057893f2f0726e65003e\"},\"headline\":\"Facing intense internal pressure, DNC releases postelection autopsy that criticizes Kamala Harris\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-21T21:36:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838\"},\"wordCount\":1098,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/fe6d474168e857e4e8b2f6717e44d499.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838\",\"name\":\"Facing intense internal pressure, DNC releases postelection autopsy that criticizes Kamala Harris - South Florida Moving Guides\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/fe6d474168e857e4e8b2f6717e44d499.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-21T21:36:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/20969a46eb23057893f2f0726e65003e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/fe6d474168e857e4e8b2f6717e44d499.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/fe6d474168e857e4e8b2f6717e44d499.avif\",\"width\":700,\"height\":467},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=838#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Facing intense internal pressure, DNC releases postelection autopsy that criticizes Kamala Harris\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"South Florida Moving Guides\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/20969a46eb23057893f2f0726e65003e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Facing intense internal pressure, DNC releases postelection autopsy that criticizes Kamala Harris - South Florida Moving Guides","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Facing intense internal pressure, DNC releases postelection autopsy that criticizes Kamala Harris - South Florida Moving Guides","og_description":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Kamala Harris \u201cwrote off rural America\" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient \u201cnegative firepower,\" according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released Thursday by the Democratic National Committee that did little to quell Democrats' concerns about the direction of their party.","og_url":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838","og_site_name":"South Florida Moving Guides","article_published_time":"2026-05-21T21:36:23+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/#\/schema\/person\/20969a46eb23057893f2f0726e65003e"},"headline":"Facing intense internal pressure, DNC releases postelection autopsy that criticizes Kamala Harris","datePublished":"2026-05-21T21:36:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838"},"wordCount":1098,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/fe6d474168e857e4e8b2f6717e44d499.avif","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838","url":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838","name":"Facing intense internal pressure, DNC releases postelection autopsy that criticizes Kamala Harris - South Florida Moving Guides","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/fe6d474168e857e4e8b2f6717e44d499.avif","datePublished":"2026-05-21T21:36:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/#\/schema\/person\/20969a46eb23057893f2f0726e65003e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/fe6d474168e857e4e8b2f6717e44d499.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/fe6d474168e857e4e8b2f6717e44d499.avif","width":700,"height":467},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=838#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Facing intense internal pressure, DNC releases postelection autopsy that criticizes Kamala Harris"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/","name":"South Florida Moving Guides","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/#\/schema\/person\/20969a46eb23057893f2f0726e65003e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com"],"url":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}