Photo: Getty Images
Former Vice President Kamala Harris has privately signaled that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) should release its full autopsy of her 2024 presidential campaign.
A source who reportedly overheard Harris’s conversation with donors told NBC News on Thursday (May 7) that she believed the DNC should release the full autopsy on her failed presidential campaign.
According to the source, she was unaware of DNC Chairman Ken Martin’s plan to keep the report under wraps until DNC officials announced they would keep it private in December last year. Despite past pledges to release the report in full, Martin justified the decision by claiming the party should instead focus on winning the 2026 midterms, according to Axios.
“Here's our North Star: Does this help us win? If the answer is no, it's a distraction from the core mission,” Martin said.
At the time, several Democratic leaders publicly opposed the decision, claiming that it gave Harris an unfair advantage if she decided to run again, and questioning how keeping the party’s mistakes hidden would help them learn from them.
“Kamala Harris certainly benefits from not having an open discussion,” Jeff Weaver, presidential campaign manager in 2016 for Sen. Bernie Sanders' in 2016, said.
“I suspect the reasons why this isn't being released are precisely the reasons why it should be released,” Lis Smith, a longtime adviser to former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, said in a statement posted to X.
Two anonymous sources told Axios last month that Martin was reportedly considering releasing a short summary of the report’s findings amid pressure, but has not provided an exact timeline. Harris eventually confirmed during the National Action Network conference in New York City last month that she was strongly considering running again in 2028, per NBC.
Many Democratic leaders are also reportedly dismissing Harris’s chances, telling the outlet that she already lost her chance when Donald Trump won in 2024, and the party will be doomed if it nominates either another woman or another person of color following both her and Hillary Clinton's losses.
Norm Solomon, leader of the grassroots group RootsAction, one of the most vocal proponents of releasing the full autopsy, also questioned Harris’s motives for expressing support for the release to private donors rather than directly confronting Martin.
“More than four months have passed since Martin announced he was reneging on his promise to release the autopsy,” he said. “But Harris still hasn’t made any public statement that she believes it should be released. Saying so privately to some big donors is very different than publicly calling for transparency from the DNC, which is badly needed.”
The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.