Democrats are in the process of drafting an incomplete post-mortem analysis regarding the 2024 presidential election
The Democratic Party is delving into the aftermath of the 2024 election, with a particular focus on understanding voter turnout for Republicans and Democrats, and discussing ways to improve moving forward. This review, however, seems to steer clear of scrutinizing the presidential campaign's strategic or messaging decisions, such as President Biden’s run for reelection, Kamala Harris as the running mate, and specific campaign messaging tactics.
Instead, the party is concentrating on how outside groups spent money on advertising and voter turnout efforts. This choice might be a deliberate avoidance of accountability regarding the campaign’s internal strategy and leadership decisions, which have been criticized but remain politically sensitive topics within the party.
The Democratic National Committee's "after-action review" is expected to suggest a shift in focus from advertising to organizing. This emphasis on external spending could help better understand and counteract the impact of super PACs and dark money. However, without a frank analysis of campaign decisions, the party might fail to develop effective strategies to rebuild voter support, particularly among critical working-class constituencies where Democrats have lost ground.
One of the key players in this review is Future Forward, a super PAC that spent $560 million supporting the Biden-Harris campaign. Out of this total, only 13 percent of their ads were about Harris, with the rest attacking Trump. According to reports, the review may argue that Future Forward did not spend enough time attacking Trump and spent too much time speaking positively about Vice President Kamala Harris.
A Future Forward aide stated that their data-driven team argued throughout the campaign that negative ads weren't useful against Trump, and instead asserted that ads contrasting Trump and Harris were more valuable. This approach, however, has been subject to debate within the party.
The review, led by Paul Rivera, is not yet complete, and it is advised to hold applause or criticism until the full report is released. It remains to be seen how this post-election review will shape the Democratic Party's strategy for future elections and whether the party will address internal strategic failures that could limit their ability to regain lost ground.
- The Democratic National Committee's review of the 2024 election is expected to indicate a push towards shifting focus from advertising to organizing, with a potential recommendation to counteract the influence of super PACs and dark money.
- The ongoing review, led by Paul Rivera, may criticsize how the super PAC Future Forward allocated its resources during the Biden-Harris campaign, suggesting that more emphasis on attacking Donald Trump and less on promoting Kamala Harris could have been beneficial in the general election.
