Democrats face backlash for 2024 campaign report, including error-filled NC section
An after-action report for the Democratic National Committee on the 2024 election is being widely discredited as error-laden, including sections on North Carolina’s gubernatorial race.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin commissioned the autopsy after Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election to help the party understand how it could “blow through billions of dollars” and still “have lost to President Donald Trump again.”
He wanted someone without direct ties to the 2024 campaign cycle to figure out where the party “fell short” and provide “specific recommendations to improve our allocation of resources, tech, data, organizing, media strategy, and more.”
Instead, the report was submitted with mistakes and sweeping statements without evidence to back it up, leading some to call for Martin’s resignation. The report was made public Thursday.
In findings about North Carolina’s election, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s campaign against former Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican, was highlighted as one to emulate going forward. But political observers say the mistakes distract from determining broader lessons from North Carolina’s election.
“It gets basic facts wrong,” said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, on Thursday. “As basic as the percent of the vote that Josh Stein and Mark Robinson got in the 2024 election.”
Rivera wrote in the report: “While Stein was able to keep the governor’s office under Democratic control, it is concerning how Robinson was able to capture 45% of the state’s vote, even after his repudiation of equal rights over everyone and proudly and loudly asserting he was a ‘Black Nazi.’”
Stein won with 54.9% of the vote to Robinson’s 40.08%. But the after-action report shows different margins between Stein and Robinson multiple times. In one instance, it claims Robinson received 45% of the vote and another time with 43%.
McClatchy confirmed Thursday that Democratic strategist Paul Rivera authored the report. On a call Thursday, Martin announced Rivera is no longer with DNC, a source familiar with the call told McClatchy.
Mark Robinson as a candidate
About two months before the 2024 election, CNN broke a story that Robinson was posting racist and raunchy messages on a porn forum called Nude Africa, including that he was a “Black Nazi.” He recently admitted to his porn habits on a podcast and said he lied about them before the election so he wouldn’t hurt Trump’s campaign.
The report goes on to say that Robinson’s performance in the election must be a “wake-up call” to Democrats. Even without the support of Trump and major organizations, extreme right-wing candidates can still leverage the conservative media eco-sytem to engender support and momentum for their platforms, according to the report.
But Robinson enjoyed Trump’s support through most of his political career. Trump harkened him to “Martin Luther King on steroids.” Robinson was a keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention. After the CNN report, Trump withdrew his support of Robinson, and subtly.
What Stein’s victory means
Aside from errors in the report, Stein’s campaign receives positive notes.
“Stein’s pathway to victory, in contrast, should encourage others to do the same: focus less on abstract issues and identity politics, and connect with voters on the issues they say matter most, including the economy, disaster relief, and addressing housing affordability.”
Rivera said the wins of Stein, along with Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, should set a blueprint for candidates in other states seeking to align themselves with their voters.
“Their wins prove when Democrats focus on pressing issues for voters, it’s fighting the right fight,” Rivera writes. “And when we fight, we win.”
Later in the document, Rivera says Robinson’s statements about the LGBTQ+ community, the Holocaust and slavery made Robinson toxic to voters. But he notes that Robinson won his first election with those comments already made public. It wasn’t until the news broke about the porn forum where his support began to erode.
It also says that Stein’s best performance relative to Harris’ was in major metro areas.
Cooper disputes that assessment.
“An actual look at the number at the countries where Stein outperformed Harris the most reveals a very different story,” he said.
Harris v. Trump in North Carolina
Rivera takes the DNC through Trump and Harris’ race in North Carolina but again has incorrect figures about the results.
Trump won North Carolina 50.9% to Harris’ 47.7%, but Rivera writes that Trump won 51.1% to Harris’ 47.7%
Rivera made other claims in his report stating that educated voters went to Trump-Stein and rejected Harris-Robinson, but voted for Democrats down ballot.
“The problem wasn’t Democratic policy or party brand,” Rivera wrote. “It was specifically about how Harris as a candidate...”
Rivera left the sentence incomplete.
But he added: “The national campaign appears to have assumed Trump was so unacceptable that persuadable voters would automatically vote Democratic. North Carolina’s results suggest otherwise.”
Cooper said after reading through the report, which included analysis on Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s campaign, he’s having trouble understanding what the overarching message is.
Releasing the report
The release of the report itself also stirred debate. In December, Martin said he wouldn’t release the report.
“I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on the report that was produced,” Martin said. “After last November’s massive Democratic wins, I didn’t want to create a distraction, but by not putting the report out, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction. For that, I sincerely apologize.”
Martin said the report didn’t provide what he was looking for, and he wasn’t provided sourcing material, interviews or supporting data for claims in the document. There are sections, including the conclusion, that were never filled out.
“When I received the report late last year, it wasn’t ready for prime time — not even close — and because no source material was provided, it would have meant starting over,” Martin said in a statement to McClatchy.
On Wednesday, CNN received and released a copy of the report. Martin released the official report with annotations that it does not reflect DNC’s views and the committee could not independently verify the claims in the report. The annotations also noted some inaccurate data points.
“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,” Martin said.
After reading the report, Cooper offered the following advice to the Democratic Party ahead of the 2028 election: “Hire somebody better to do your autopsy.”
