Scoop: DNC officials working on secret report found Gaza stance cost Harris votes
· Axios
Top Democratic officials who worked on the party's still-secret autopsy of the 2024 election concluded that Kamala Harris lost significant support because of the Biden administration's approach to the war in Gaza, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The Democratic National Committee's research on what went wrong in 2024 has been under lock and key since party leaders decided last year to hide it from the public — a reflection of how explosively it could resonate within the party and beyond.
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- Progressive and moderate Democrats are particularly divided over Israel, with the left more critical of that nation's actions against Palestinians in Gaza and many questioning the U.S.'s unwavering support for Israel.
Zoom in: During her brief campaign Harris sought to strike a balance, showing strong support for Israel while calling for a ceasefire and expressing sympathy for Palestinians under attack in Gaza as well as the hostages being held by Hamas.
Driving the news: DNC aides putting together the report on Harris' loss to Donald Trump had a closed-door conversation with a pro-Palestinian group about the Israel-Gaza conflict.
- Activists from the IMEU Policy Project told the DNC that the Biden-Harris administration's support for Israel was a factor in the party's losses because it drained support from some young people and progressives.
- Hamid Bendaas, a spokesperson for the IMEU Policy Project, said that during the meeting "the DNC shared with us that their own data also found that policy was, in their words, a 'net-negative' in the 2024 election." Two other senior aides at the pro-Palestinian organization also said the DNC had drawn that conclusion.
- Axios independently verified that Democratic officials conducting the autopsy believed the issue harmed the party's standing with some voters.
The intrigue: The IMEU Policy Project is now accusing the DNC of withholding its report in part because of its findings on Israel.
- DNC spokesperson Kendall Witmer denied that.
- When DNC officials announced last year that they wouldn't release the audit, they said it was because they didn't want the report to distract from the work of winning elections.
What they're saying: The DNC confirmed that it spoke with the IMEU Policy Project and hundreds of others as part of its analysis and said it was grateful for the conversation but didn't provide additional details about it.
- Bendaas said the DNC should share its findings on Israel widely throughout the party ahead of the "critical" midterms.
- DNC officials have said they're integrating their research from the audit into discussions with candidates and campaigns.
Asked for comment, a Harris aide pointed to the former vice president's recent comments about the war in Gaza on a tour stop for her memoir, "107 Days."
- "We should have done more as an administration," Harris said at the event, adding "we should have spoken publicly about our criticism" of how Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu executed the war.
Flashback: Harris said in her book that President Biden's unpopularity, which she argued was partly because of "his perceived blank check" to Netanyahu, harmed her in 2024.
- Harris wrote that she privately "pleaded" with Biden to show more empathy for civilians in Gaza. But during her campaign, she declined to publicly break with him over Israel.